Last week, there was a report on Axel Springer having discussions with Politico. Now the German publisher has announced that it’s acquiring the digital news outlet.
As part of the agreement, the deal will see Axel Springer includes the 50 percent share of its current joint venture POLITICO Europe and the tech news website Protocol from Robert Allbritton.
The two parties didn’t disclose the financial terms of the sale, but several reports have implied the agreement was for upward of $1 billion.
“Politico’s outstanding team has disrupted digital political journalism and set new standards,” Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfne said. “A true North Star. It will be a privilege and a special responsibility to help shape the future of this outstanding media company.”
“Objective quality journalism is more important than ever, and we mutually believe in the necessity of editorial independence and nonpartisan reporting. This is crucial for our future success and accelerated growth.”
Allbritton also commented on the sale where he described owning a politics and policy news brand now that the run is coming to an end.
“As Politico has prospered in recent years, accompanied by the successful launch of Protocol, it became steadily more clear that the responsibility to grow the business on a global scale, to better serve the audience and create more opportunities for our employees, might be better advanced by a larger company with a significant global footprint and ambitions than it could be by me as owner of a family business,” Allbritton said.
“As I have often said, I would only welcome a new investor that reflected my values and Politico distinctive company values. Axel Springer and Mathias Döpfner and his team meet that test better than any other company in media today. I look forward to working with them as publisher of Politico and Protocol as we reach even greater heights.”
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.
