The Chinese site JD.com will become the second shareholder of Fnac Darty, but without “any management rights”, the Minister of Economy assures

The large Chinese group specialized in e-commerce JD.com has accepted Bercy’s conditions to indirectly become the second shareholder of Fnac Darty, Minister of Economy Roland Lescure said on Wednesday, November 26. France Inter.

Remembering that Fnac wasn’t “not a trader like any other”Roland Lescure said he spoke to the JD.com group for the “raising awareness of the cultural nature of the trade in question and (…) set conditions. They accepted them” : “They remain shareholders (…) dormant, no board rights, no impact on the company’s management »Mr. Lescure explained. “We are evolving from a German shareholder to a Chinese shareholder, which will have no impact, neither on management nor on the board”he added.

JD.com, which wants to strengthen its presence in Europe, is completing the acquisition, for around 2.2 billion euros, of the German distributor Ceconomy, which holds 22% of the capital of the French distributor, making it the second largest 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 investigation under the control of foreign investment in France (IEF), which it did.

This procedure aimed at preserving France’s economic interests in certain sensitive sectors was ultimately not applicable in this case, Bercy explained to Agence France-Presse, adding that he had nevertheless asked JD.com to respect certain conditions as part of the operation.

The latter is the case, in addition to no intervention in management “JD and Ceconomy have committed not to increase their stake in Fnac’s capital” and not to take control of it, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. “Fnac’s board, which consists of independent directors, will not be changed”he added.

JD.com has also launched its online sales platform Joybuy in France, where you can find all kinds of products from electronics to clothing, including food.