JD.com revives interest in buying German retailer Ceconomy

Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com (9618) has renewed its interest in acquiring German electronics retailer Ceconomy, according to people familiar with the matter.

JD.com recently approached Ceconomy about a potential deal and has started sounding out large shareholders of the German company, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

Shares of Ceconomy jumped as much as 15 percent in Wednesday trading, hitting the highest intraday level since March 2022 and giving the company a market value of about €1.7 billion (HK$13.8 billion).

JD.com has been hunting for acquisitions to expand amid weakness in the domestic economy, and last year it explored an acquisition of British electronics retailer Currys before eventually walking away. The delivery network of JD.com’s logistics arm would also be complementary to Ceconomy’s brick and mortar stores. Ceconomy operates roughly 1,000 stores in Europe under the MediaMarkt and Saturn brands, according to its website.