Overview
- JD.com and Ceconomy said Austria’s investment-control authority raised concerns that have put the takeover timeline in doubt.
- Competition regulators have cleared the deal, while France and Italy approved investment screening and Germany and Spain are expected to decide soon.
- Ceconomy said the Austrian authority is blocking a search for solutions, while JD.com said it is working intensively with the regulator and still aims to close.
- Companies and market reports say an exclusion of the Austrian unit is a realistic fallback, which could unsettle MediaMarkt stores, jobs, and customers in Austria.
- JD.com seeks control of Ceconomy, Europe’s electronics retail giant with about €23.1 billion in revenue and 1,000+ stores, and has bolstered data safeguards to address national security reviews that are separate from antitrust checks.