Baker McKenzie has advised JD.com, a leading global supply chain-based technology and service provider on the announced public takeover offer for Ceconomy, a leading consumer electronics company in Europe. With this strategic investment partnership, JD.com and Ceconomy intend to build the leading European platform for next-generation consumer electronics.
“Only a few months after the move of my team to Baker McKenzie, I am very pleased about our contribution to realize the success of JD.com in such a complex takeover transaction due to our strengthened combined premier Public M&A experience in Germany” commented Dirk Horcher, lead partner on the deal.
"This strategic investment agreement will enable our client to drive Ceconomy's growth and accelerate its transformation into the leading omnichannel platform for consumer electronics in Europe," added Christoph Wolf, co-lead partner on the transaction.
Since its founding in 2004, JD.com has established a strong brand reputation by providing an industry-leading integrated omnichannel shopping experience and redefining logistics service standards. Ranked 44th on the Fortune Global 500, JD.com is China’s largest retail company by revenue. JD.com has been listed on the NASDAQ since 2014 and on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 2020.
CECONOMY is a European retail leader in the field of consumer electronics. Its main brands MediaMarkt and Saturn operate omni-channel retail businesses, combining strong e-commerce presence with more than 1,000 retail stores in 11 countries. CECONOMY has approximately 2 billion customer contacts per year and 50,000 employees across all markets.
Baker McKenzie's German Corporate/M&A practice regularly advises on complex domestic and international M&A transactions. Most recently, Baker McKenzie advised VINCI Energies on the acquisition of R + S Group and on the acquisition of Zimmer & Hälbig Group, Bristol Myers Squibb on the transfer of Juno Therapeutics to TQ Therapeutics, Sunoco on the acquisition of TanQuid Group, Georg Fischer on the acquisition of VAG Group, AURELIUS on the acquisition of Teijin Automotive Technologies, Centric Software on the acquisition of Contentserv Group, Fagron Group on the acquisition of Euro OTC & Audor Pharma GmbH, Terra One Climate Solutions on the Sale of Battery Energy Storage Systems, Berlin Packaging on the acquisition of RIXIUS AG, Instalco on the investment in FABRI AG, the main shareholder on its exit from Atlantic Hub, AURELIUS on the acquisition of What’s Cooking Savoury Division, and UBE Corporation on its acquisition of the Urethane Systems business from LANXESS.
Legal advisor to JD.com:
Lead:
Corporate/M&A: Dirk Horcher (Partner, Munich), Dr. Christoph Wolf (Partner, Frankfurt)
Team:
Corporate/M&A: Christian Atzler (Partner, Frankfurt), Manuel Metzner (Counsel, Frankfurt), Dr. Jens Klapdor (Associate, Munich), Simon Pollak (Associate, Munich), Anna-Giulia Klaas (Associate, Munich), Rouven Reuter (Associate, Frankfurt), Zhi Bao* (FenXun, Beijing)
Regulatory: Anahita Thoms (Partner, Berlin), Dr. Alexander Ehrle (Senior Associate, Berlin), Vanessa Wüstneck (Associate, Berlin), Dr. Nicolas Kredel (Partner, Düsseldorf), Jan Kresken (Partner, Düsseldorf), Dr. Florian Kotman (Counsel, Düsseldorf), Markus Mossmann (Associate, Düsseldorf), Bram Hoorelbeke (Counsel, Brussels), Laura Liu* (FenXun, Beijing)
Banking & Finance: Simon Leung (Partner, Hong Kong), Gerry Wong** (Partner, Hong Kong), Duan Cui* (FenXun, Beijing), Xuechun Ruan* (FenXun, Beijing), Matthias Töke (Partner, Frankfurt), Kieran Verdano (Associate, Frankfurt)
Commercial: Joachim Fröhlich (Counsel, Munich), Hannah Mack (Associate, Munich)
Compliance: Dr. Robin Haas (Counsel, Munich), Lisa Moskalenko (Associate, Munich)
Employment & Pensions: Dr. Felix Diehl (Partner, Frankfurt), Jan Kammler (Associate, Frankfurt), Annika Kißener (Associate, Frankfurt)
IP: Patrick Wilkening (Partner, Düsseldorf), Felix Osiander (Associate, Frankfurt)
IT: Florian Tannen (Partner, Munich), Daniel Wulle (Senior Associate, Munich)
Litigation: Dr. Tobias Höfling (Partner, Frankfurt), Tim Robben (Associate, Düsseldorf)
Real Estate: Till Pflug (Associate, Frankfurt)
* Members from FenXun, which is a premier Chinese law firm. FenXun established a joint operation office with Baker McKenzie in China as Baker McKenzie FenXun in 2015.
** Registered Foreign Lawyer (Partner equivalent)