Axel Springer, the German newspaper publisher that owns Bild and Politico, will be split up.
The company’s CEO, Mathias Döpfner, reached an agreement with the American investment firm KKR to separate the advertising division from the news operations, which include titles such as Business Insider and Die Welt.
The media titles will remain in the hands of Döpfner and Friede Springer, the widow of the publisher’s founder, as a private company.
Four advertising websites, including job site Stepstone and property platform Aviv, will be spun off as separate companies in which KKR and CCP Investments will hold a majority stake.
Axel Springer will retain a minority interest. Financial details were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of next year.
This deal enables KKR to focus on the rapidly growing advertising sector. A few years ago, the German media company was taken private from the stock market by KKR, together with the founding family and CEO Döpfner.
Under Döpfner’s leadership, the company acquired Business Insider in 2015 and Politico in 2021 for approximately $1 billion. It was also one of the first major media companies to strike a deal with OpenAI, allowing the AI company to use its content.
On Sunday, the British business newspaper Financial Times reported that a split was imminent. The deal values Axel Springer at €13.5 billion, according to the newspaper.
