Baker McKenzie has successfully advised JD.com, a leading global provider of supply chain-based technologies and services, on the regulatory approvals for its acquisition of CECONOMY AG. The European Commission's clearance under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) marks the final regulatory approval required for completion of the transaction.
The transaction was announced in late July 2025. The regulatory advice focused on the complex foreign direct investment (FDI) review procedures in Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy and France and the FSR proceedings before the European Commission as well as merger control proceedings in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Turkey. Baker McKenzie advised JD.com in these proceedings through a cross-border team combining expertise in FDI, FSR, merger control and M&A.
"We are very happy to have assisted our client JD.com in obtaining the required regulatory approvals for the acquisition of CECONOMY to create the next-generation consumer electronics platform in Europe", comments Dirk Horcher, lead partner on the transaction.
“We steered five national FDI reviews, the FSR review and six merger control proceedings through a single, coordinated strategy. Our integrated FDI, FSR and merger control expertise allowed us to align these parallel processes and secure all required clearances for this strategic investment”, comments Anahita Thoms, Head of International Trade Germany at Baker McKenzie.
JD.com is a provider of supply chain technologies and services. The company combines various distribution channels with integrated logistics services. JD.com ranks 41st on the Fortune Global 500 and is China's largest retailer in terms of sales. JD.com has been listed on the NASDAQ since 2014 and on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 2020.
CECONOMY AG, the parent company of MediaMarktSaturn, is a leading European omnichannel platform for consumer electronics with its MediaMarkt, MediaWorld and Saturn brands. The company combines a strong e-commerce presence with more than 1,000 stores across eleven countries, employs around 50,000 people and records around two billion customer interactions annually.
Legal advisors to JD.com
Lead:
Corporate/M&A: Dirk Horcher (partner, Munich)
FDI/FSR: Anahita Thoms (partner, Berlin)
Team:
Corporate/M&A: Christian Atzler (partner, Frankfurt), Manuel Metzner (senior counsel, Frankfurt), Dr. Jens Klapdor (associate, Munich)
FDI: Laura Liu* (partner, Beijing), Nina Lenhard (partner, Vienna), Paloma Martinez-Lage (partner, Madrid), Guillaume Nataf (partner, Paris), Chiara Marinozzi (partner, Milan), Frederik Alexander Dörr (associate, Berlin), Vanessa Wüstneck (associate, Berlin), Ines Fernandez (associate, Madrid), Guillaume Ferrandon (associate, Paris), Elisa Brehonnet (associate, Paris), Sarah Zhao* (associate, Beijing), Sandra Kerschhofer (associate, Vienna)
FSR: Bram Hoorelbeke (partner, Brussels), Laura Liu* (partner, Beijing), Pavlo Prokhorov (associate, Brussels), Sarah Zhao* (associate, Beijing), Yini Ouyang* (associate, Beijing), Frederik Alexander Dörr (associate, Berlin), Vanessa Wüstneck (associate, Berlin), Beau Maes (associate, Brussels), Dr. Florian Kotman (counsel, Düsseldorf)
Merger control: Jan Kresken (partner, Düsseldorf), Laura Liu* (partner, Beijing), Paloma Martinez-Lage (partner, Madrid), Frans Muller (partner, Amsterdam), Hakan Ozgokcen (partner, Istanbul), Nina Lenhard (partner, Vienna), Dr. Florian Kotman (counsel, Düsseldorf), Sarah Zhao* (associate, Beijing), Yini Ouyang* (associate, Beijing), Ines Fernandez (associate, Madrid), Esen Ergül (senior associate, Istanbul), Helin Yüksel (senior associate, Istanbul), Emir Besler (associate, Istanbul)
Data Privacy: Florian Tannen (partner, Munich), Vivian Wu* (partner, Beijing), Lennart Reich (senior associate, Munich), Michael Levin Saalfeld (associate, Munich)
IP Tech: Yilan Yang* (partner, Beijing), Aileen-Sophie Zengler (associate, Frankfurt)
Tax: Huanyu Sun* (associate, Beijing)
Commercial: Joachim Fröhlich (counsel, Munich)
* 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.
The transaction was announced in late July 2025. The regulatory advice focused on the complex foreign direct investment (FDI) review procedures in Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy and France and the FSR proceedings before the European Commission as well as merger control proceedings in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Turkey. Baker McKenzie advised JD.com in these proceedings through a cross-border team combining expertise in FDI, FSR, merger control and M&A.
"We are very happy to have assisted our client JD.com in obtaining the required regulatory approvals for the acquisition of CECONOMY to create the next-generation consumer electronics platform in Europe", comments Dirk Horcher, lead partner on the transaction.
“We steered five national FDI reviews, the FSR review and six merger control proceedings through a single, coordinated strategy. Our integrated FDI, FSR and merger control expertise allowed us to align these parallel processes and secure all required clearances for this strategic investment”, comments Anahita Thoms, Head of International Trade Germany at Baker McKenzie.
JD.com is a provider of supply chain technologies and services. The company combines various distribution channels with integrated logistics services. JD.com ranks 41st on the Fortune Global 500 and is China's largest retailer in terms of sales. JD.com has been listed on the NASDAQ since 2014 and on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 2020.
CECONOMY AG, the parent company of MediaMarktSaturn, is a leading European omnichannel platform for consumer electronics with its MediaMarkt, MediaWorld and Saturn brands. The company combines a strong e-commerce presence with more than 1,000 stores across eleven countries, employs around 50,000 people and records around two billion customer interactions annually.
Legal advisors to JD.com
Lead:
Corporate/M&A: Dirk Horcher (partner, Munich)
FDI/FSR: Anahita Thoms (partner, Berlin)
Team:
Corporate/M&A: Christian Atzler (partner, Frankfurt), Manuel Metzner (senior counsel, Frankfurt), Dr. Jens Klapdor (associate, Munich)
FDI: Laura Liu* (partner, Beijing), Nina Lenhard (partner, Vienna), Paloma Martinez-Lage (partner, Madrid), Guillaume Nataf (partner, Paris), Chiara Marinozzi (partner, Milan), Frederik Alexander Dörr (associate, Berlin), Vanessa Wüstneck (associate, Berlin), Ines Fernandez (associate, Madrid), Guillaume Ferrandon (associate, Paris), Elisa Brehonnet (associate, Paris), Sarah Zhao* (associate, Beijing), Sandra Kerschhofer (associate, Vienna)
FSR: Bram Hoorelbeke (partner, Brussels), Laura Liu* (partner, Beijing), Pavlo Prokhorov (associate, Brussels), Sarah Zhao* (associate, Beijing), Yini Ouyang* (associate, Beijing), Frederik Alexander Dörr (associate, Berlin), Vanessa Wüstneck (associate, Berlin), Beau Maes (associate, Brussels), Dr. Florian Kotman (counsel, Düsseldorf)
Merger control: Jan Kresken (partner, Düsseldorf), Laura Liu* (partner, Beijing), Paloma Martinez-Lage (partner, Madrid), Frans Muller (partner, Amsterdam), Hakan Ozgokcen (partner, Istanbul), Nina Lenhard (partner, Vienna), Dr. Florian Kotman (counsel, Düsseldorf), Sarah Zhao* (associate, Beijing), Yini Ouyang* (associate, Beijing), Ines Fernandez (associate, Madrid), Esen Ergül (senior associate, Istanbul), Helin Yüksel (senior associate, Istanbul), Emir Besler (associate, Istanbul)
Data Privacy: Florian Tannen (partner, Munich), Vivian Wu* (partner, Beijing), Lennart Reich (senior associate, Munich), Michael Levin Saalfeld (associate, Munich)
IP Tech: Yilan Yang* (partner, Beijing), Aileen-Sophie Zengler (associate, Frankfurt)
Tax: Huanyu Sun* (associate, Beijing)
Commercial: Joachim Fröhlich (counsel, Munich)
* 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.
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