Axel Springer
Axel Springer Verlag was founded by Axel Springer in Hamburg in 1946. Today, the company is a leading international media and technology company operating in more than 40 countries. In Europe and Germany, Axel Springer is one of the largest media companies alongside Bertelsmann. In addition to Bild and Bild am Sonntag, Axel Springer also publishes Welt and Welt am Sonntag as well as the TV channel Welt, Business Insider, Politico and the US newsletter Morning Brew. Axel Springer holds a stake in Media Pioneer and owns the job portal Stepstone and the AVIV Group with the property portal Immoscout. The publishing house also owns Bonial, Idealo and Awin. Axel Springer SE is headquartered in Berlin and now has a branch in New York City, USA. In June 2019, Axel Springer concluded an agreement with the US investment company KKR. KKR announced a voluntary takeover offer of 63 euros per share, valuing the company at 6.8 billion euros. Friede Springer and Mathias Döpfner retained their shares. KKR plans to reorganise the Group and sell the shares at a profit after around 5 to 7 years. After two acceptance periods, KKR reached a stake of 42.5% in August 2019. As a result, the free float fell below 5% and the share was excluded from the MDAX in August 2019. The share has no longer been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 6 April 2020 and trading on the OTC market on most German stock exchanges was discontinued.
Business Form
private
Legal Form
European Company (Societas Europaea, SE)
Business Sectors
Classified Advertising; Price Comparison Websites
KKR
KKR is a major shareholder (35.6%) of Axel Springer SE and an American investment company that holds interests in various business sectors. In addition to the media sector, these include fintech companies, real estate companies, medical and other healthcare companies, and energy companies. KKR is one of the largest investors in fossil fuels.
CPPIB
CPPIB (Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board) is a pension fund that manages and invests the pension contributions of Canadian contributors. In Europe, CPPIB invests around 96 billion Canadian dollars, primarily in the areas of real estate, infrastructure, public equities, real estate funds and direct investments. CPPIB is a shareholder in the holding company Traviata, which owns 48.5% of Axel Springer SE. This means that 12.9% of Axel Springer belongs to CPPIB.
Other Print Outlets
Die Welt; Welt am Sonntag kompakt; Arte Magazin; Audio Video Foto Bild; Auto Bild; Auto Bild Klassik; Auto Bild Reisemobil; Auto Bild sportscars; B.Z.; B.Z. am Sonntag; Bike Bild; Computer Bild; Sport Bild; TestBild; Politico
Forbes; Fakt; Newsweek; AutoSwiat; KomputerSwiat
Auto Plus; L’auto Journal; Sport Auto
Politico Europe
Other TV Outlets
Bild TV; Welt; N24 Doku; DYN
Other Radio Outlets
Radio Hamburg; Radio BOB!; Radio NRW; Antenne Bayern
Other Online Outlets
Politico Deutschland; Business Insider Deutschland; autobild.de; bike-bild.de; Computer Bild; bz-berlin.de; Fitbook; Travelbook; Stylebook; Petbook; MyHomebook; Techbook; Sportbild; Upday; The Pioneer; laut.de
Politico.eu
Politico; Business Insider; Insider; Morning Brew
onet; Forbes; Business Insider; Fakt; Noizz; Newsweek; ofeminin; gameplanet; AutoSwiat; KomputerSwiat
Auto Plus; L’auto Journal; Sport Auto
Media Business
Media
Axel Springer Sport Verlag GmbH (100%)
Axel Springer Verlag Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH (100%)
Axel Springer Auto-Verlag GmbH (100%)
Axel Springer Deutschland GmbH (100%)
Axel Springer Audio GmbH (100%)
Computer Bild Digital GmbH (100%)
upday GmbH & Co. KG (77.6%)
Dyn Media GmbH (74.9%)
Media Pioneer Publishing AG (36%)
Laut AG (25%)
Mediahouse Berlin GmbH (20%)
Antenne Bayern GmbH & Co. KG (16%)
dpa Deutsche Presse Agentur GmbH (1%)
Media and Classified Ad Models
Axel Springer Digital GmbH (100%)
Corporate Publishing
Axel Springer Corporate Solutions GmbH & Co KG (100%)
Business
Media
POLITICO SRL (Belgium)
Ringier Axel Springer Polska sp. z o.o. (Poland)
Insider Inc. (USA)
Morning Brew, Inc. (USA)
Classified Ad Models
Axel Springer France S.A.S. (France)
General Information
Founding Year
1946
Affiliated Interests Founder
was born on 2 May 1912 in Altona near Hamburg. After an apprenticeship as a typesetter and printer in his father Hinrich Springer's company and a traineeship at the news agency Wolffs Telegraphisches Bureau and the Bergedorfer Zeitung, Springer returned to his father's newspaper Altonaer Nachrichten in 1933. The rise of his media empire began in 1946 with the founding of the magazine Hör Zu! In 1952, he conceived his media recipe for success: the first edition of the tabloid Bild. Axel Springer died on 22 September 1985 in West Berlin.
Employees
18000
Contact
Tax/ ID Number
DE 136 627 286
Financial Information
Revenue (Financial Data/ Optional)
€ 3.83 Billion / USD 4.03 Billion (2022)
Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
€ −24.7 Mio./ USD −26 Mio. (2022)
Advertising (in % of total funding)
Missing Data
Management
Executive Board
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Chief Executive Officer News Media USA, Deputy Chairman
Chief Financial Officer and Classifieds Media
Chief Talent & Culture Officer
Supervisory Board
Chairman of the Supervisory Board
Deputy Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board
Managing Director CPPI
Partner and Co-Head of KKR's European private equity business
Lawyer and partner in the law firm Heine & Partner
Chairman of KKR EMEA
Managing Director Private Equity KKR
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
