Media Markt and Saturn may fall into Chinese hands

Billions in turnover, thousands of stores

Media Markt and Saturn have a total of around 1,000 stores in several European countries and employ nearly 50,000 people. Their parent company, Ceconomy, has annual sales of 22.4 billion euros, of which more than 5 billion euros come from online sales – meaning the company is significant not only as a store chain but also as an e-commerce player.

The news of the acquisition is also affecting the stock market: JD.com could make an offer of 4.60 euros per share for Ceconomy’s shares, which were worth 4.29 euros on Friday morning. However, according to information from the German n-tv.de, the two parties have not yet reached a final agreement.

German roots, Chinese plans

The Media Markt and Saturn brands were founded by the German Kellerhals family, who currently own around 30% of the shares through the financial company Convergenta. Neither they nor the smaller shareholders have commented on the potential acquisition.

A particularly interesting aspect of the deal is that Ceconomy is currently operating under interim management: its former CEO, Karsten Wildberger, left in April because he took on a role in the government of Friedrich Merz.

JD.com: Turning to Europe

JD.com is one of China’s largest e-commerce companies, which has recently been intensively expanding internationally. Before Media Markt and Saturn, they were also interested in the British chain Currys, but an agreement was ultimately not reached there.

If the deal is successful now, JD.com’s European presence could be significantly strengthened – both in terms of physical stores and online sales.