DOther media company Axel Springer Acquired Politico, a US news company, and its long-term business partners. Berlin publisher “Bild” und Welt announced on Thursday that they have signed an agreement with Politico founder Robert Allbritton to acquire Politico and Protocol, a news site specializing in technology. As part of this transaction, Springer will also take over the remaining 50% of the joint venture Politico Europe.
Springer did not specify the purchase price. However, Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner talked about the “record number” to the German business newspaper. As Handelsblatt reported, this means that the purchase price must be at least 630 million euros. It is said that Springer paid so much for its most expensive acquisition to date, the real estate portal SeLoger.
Since 2014, Springer has been operating the Politico Europe media platform in a joint venture with Politico, which is headquartered in Brussels. With double-digit annual growth, Politico Europe achieved profitability in 2019. Starting in the fall, Jamil Anderlini will become the new editor-in-chief of the 100-person newsroom.
Politico was founded in 2007 and now has more than 700 employees in the United States and Europe. For Springer, the United States, Germany and Poland are the core markets for new investments in the media sector. Since the entry of US financial investor KKR, the Berlin-based company has been committed to achieving growth, including through acquisitions. The corona crisis slowed the organization’s pace a bit.
