Politico could be seeing a new owner purchase a stake in the media company as the Wall Street Journal reports that Axel Springer is in talks over buying an ownership stake.
However, as discussions appear to be in their early stages, so the potential deal could also fall through. Axel Springer refused to comment; meanwhile, Politico didn’t return inquiries for comment by The New York Post.
There’s a history of Axel Springer working with Politico as both parties ventured to launch in 2014 to launch Politico’s European edition the following year in a 50-50 joint stake which is based in Brussels with offices across Europe.
The Journal said Politico publisher Robert Allbritton issued a note to employees and stated the company could eventually combine Politico and Politico Europe into one publication. He didn’t reflect on potential deal talks with Axel Springer.
Recently, Axel Springer was in discussions to acquire Axios, the digital news outlet launched by Jim VandeHei, Roy Schwartz, and journalist Mike Allen.
According to the Journal, Axios executives informed investors last month that it was “reluctant” to negotiate with the German publisher over a potential deal; instead, they remained independent.
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
