Chinese online retailer JD.com will buy a 9% stake in Beijing Digital Telecom, which operates brick-and-mortar stores that sell phones, computers, and other consumer electronics in China, JD.com said in a press release.
This move will expand JD.com’s offline presence in China, especially in the country’s lower-tier cities. Beijing Digital Telecom now runs more than 3,000 stores in China.
The financial details of this acquisition have not been made public. A JD.com spokesperson told KrASIA on Monday that the transaction’s value falls below the amount that requires disclosure under rules set by United States Securities and Exchanges Commission. JD.com is a listed company in the US.
Beijing Digital Telecom, which is listed in Hong Kong, has not disclosed financial details with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange either.
JD.com’s acquisition of a stake in Beijing Digital Telecom coincides with another deal that the latter has struck. The company said in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it will form a joint venture with Suqian Jiashi, a network technologies developer and provider. Suqian Jiashi is wholly owned by JD.com, according to a recent report by National Business Daily. For its 49% stake, Beijing Digital Telecom will contribute RMB 191 million (USD 28.5 million) to the joint venture, while Suqian Jiashi will put in RMB 204 million.
The joint venture is designed to build up “the strength of both parties in the business fields including capital finance, warehousing and cloud services, thereby improving the efficiency and reducing operating costs.”