JD.com Inc ADR (NASDAQ:JD) shares fell approximately 2% on Tuesday, 27 May 2026, after reports that the European Commission is preparing an in‑depth investigation into JD.com’s €2.2 billion acquisition bid for German electronics retailer Ceconomy.
The bid, launched by JD.com in July, was expected to close in the first half of 2026 and would give JD.com control of Ceconomy’s network of over 1,000 stores operating under the MediaMarkt and Saturn brands across Europe.
The investigation will be conducted under the EU’s foreign subsidies regulation, granting the Commission an additional 90 working days to determine whether the transaction involves unfair subsidies from a foreign government.
This is the first detailed EU scrutiny of a Chinese takeover under the foreign subsidies rules, which allow the Commission to block companies subsidised by foreign governments from public procurement, mergers and acquisitions.
The EU has previously applied the rules to other Chinese firms amid concerns that oversupply from China’s large manufacturers could distort European industry competition.
JD.com, one of China’s largest online retailers competing with Alibaba and Meituan, already operates logistics hubs in the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
EU competition chief Teresa Ribera has indicated that the bloc intends to pursue more subsidy investigations against foreign companies investing in Europe.
