Axel Springer, as a media and marketing company, will be controlled by Friede Springer, widow of the publisher’s founder Axel Springer, and the company’s CEO Mathias Döpfner. Both will hold a total of 98% shares in the company.. Axel Sven Springer, one of the grandsons of the company’s founder, will hold the remaining shares.
Axel Springer’s portfolio will include titles such as: the daily newspapers “Bild”, “Welt”, the websites Business Insider and Politico and eMarketer, The joint venture’s shares will also remain under the control of the German media company. Ringier Axel Springer Polandeditors of “Fakt”, Onet and “Newsweek”
– Thanks to this, Axel Springer will become a fully private and self-managed media company for the first time since the company’s initial public offering in 1985 – the press release said.
Read more: The digitization manager will be managed by Ringier Axel Springer Polska
On the other hand Axel Springer’s existing advertising business will be separate entities, with a majority stake held by US investment firm KKR and Canadian firm CPP Investment. The media company will retain minority stakes in them.
Entities such as Stepstone Group, AVIV Group and finanzen.net will remain in the advertising part of the group. The exact ownership structure has not yet been determined.
A new era for Axel Springer
– This decision marks a new era for Axel Springer in which… All companies will follow their own growth paths that are consistent with their core strengths and market opportunities – stated in the advertisement.
As reported by Reuters, the deal to split Axel Springer was completed in the summer. The statement did not provide a valuation for the company. The agency’s sources said the parties currently value the entire company at 13.5 billion euros, with Advertising-related activities account for the largest part of this amount, around 10 billion euros.
Axel Springer said a final agreement on the split is expected in the coming months, with the transaction expected to close in the second quarter of next year.
