The large Chinese group specializing in e-commerce JD.com has accepted the conditions set by Bercy to indirectly become the second shareholder of Fnac Darty, said Economy Minister Roland Lescure at France Inter, Wednesday, November 26.
Given that Fnac does not “not a trader like the others”Roland Lescure said he spoke with the JD.com group to “raising awareness of the cultural nature of the trade and (…) to set conditions. They accepted it” : “They will remain shareholders (…) inactive, no governance rights, no impact on company management »explained Mr. Lescure. “We are switching from German shareholders to Chinese shareholders, which will have no impact whatsoever, either on management or governance”he added.
JD.com, which wants to strengthen its presence in Europe, is in the process of completing the acquisition, for 2.2 billion euros, of German distributor Ceconomy, which holds 22% of the French distributor’s capital, making it the second shareholder after Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky (28%).
In September, faced with the expected arrival of JD.com in the capital of Fnac Darty, the Ministry of Economy asked the Chinese group to submit a request for inspection under the control of foreign investment in France (IEF), which they did.
Procedures aimed at safeguarding French economic interests in certain sensitive sectors ultimately do not apply in this case, Bercy explained to Agence France-Presse, adding that he still asked JD.com to respect certain conditions as part of the operation.
Among the latter, in addition to non-intervention in management, “JD and Ceconomy have vowed not to increase their holdings in Fnac capital” and did not take control of it, according to the Ministry of Economy. “Fnac’s governance, consisting of independent directors, will not be changed”he added.
JD.com has also launched the Joybuy online sales platform in France, where you can find all kinds of products, from electronics to clothing, including food.
