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Chinese giant bids for Mediamarkt and faces opposition from the EU
The EU is investigating whether illegal subsidies are behind JD.com's billion-dollar bid.
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The German electronics retailer Mediamarkt appears to be on its way to becoming Chinese-owned. E-commerce giant JD.com has made a bid for Ceconomy (owner of both Mediamarkt and Saturn) worth $2.5 billion, but Realtid is now reporting that the deal may have hit a snag.
The European Commission suspects that JD.com has received substantial state subsidies in China, which would make it ineligible to make the purchase under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation. These state subsidies have enabled the company to submit a higher bid than its competitors.
In other words, the final word has not yet been spoken. The deal was originally scheduled to close later this year.
