China's JD.com Bets Big On Europe With $2.5B Ceconomy Buy, But Retail Traders Stay Bearish
Synopsis
Retail sentiment has been bearish, and the Chinese company's Hong Kong shares declined on Thursday.
Retail sentiment for JD.com (JD) shares remained in the 'bearish' territory early Thursday, following the Chinese tech giant's official confirmation of its acquisition of German retail chain Ceconomy, marking one of its largest overseas expansions to date.
JD is acquiring Ceconomy for €2.2 billion ($2.5 billion) in cash. Pending regulatory approvals, the deal would give JD a significant foothold in the European market.
Ceconomy is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and owns electronics chains MediaMarkt and Saturn. Cumulatively, these assets comprise a network of approximately 1,000 stores across several European countries, and around 50,000 staff.
JD's Hong Kong-listed shares were down 3.2% in the afternoon trading on Thursday, signaling investor concerns about the deal. Ceconomy shares in Frankfurt closed 4.4% higher on Wednesday and continued to rise on Thursday.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for JD first turned 'bearish' when reports about the deal emerged last week. It has largely remained in the same zone since then.
User posts suggested frustration with the recent stock performance.
"Another buying opportunity tomorrow. Always a buying opportunity. Sure would be nice to enter the selling opportunity stage," one user remarked.
JD's U.S.-listed shares are down about 27% from their 2025 high on March 18 as analysts have grown concerned about the company's heavy investment in its food-delivery business in China. JD entered the space with JD Takeaway in February, sparking a discount war with market leaders Meituan and Alibaba's (BABA) Ele.me.
JD has stepped up its international expansion in recent years, launching the omnichannel retail brand Ochama in the Netherlands in 2022 and beginning a pilot of its UK e-commerce platform, Joybuy, in April.
The company also considered acquiring British electronics retailer Currys last year, but there has been no update on the talks since then.
The Ceconomy deal comes a month after JD founder Richard Liu vowed to accelerate the company's international expansion and double down on new areas, such as food delivery and travel booking.
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