Axel Springer SE, the now privately-owned German media group, is in talks relating either to a majority stake or a complete acquisition of Politico, the Washington DC website. The two companies have co-operated for some years on a JV European edition based in Brussels and managed by Springer.
Politico was founded in 2007 by its owner Robert Allbritton, focussing on political news in Washington and expanding into events and subscription services. It thought to have revenue of some $200m and to be seeking a $1bn valuation. The company has recently faced star staffing challenges as independent journalism flourishes and new competitors, such as Punchbowl, emerge.
Axel Springer, which publishes the German newspapers Bild and Die Welt and has a worldwide digital classifieds group, has been adding to its US media holdings in recent years. It acquired Business Insider in 2015 for about $500m and recently added Morning Brew, a digital publisher that has focused largely on business. It is also believed to have explored the possibility of acquiring Axios.
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Launched in 2007, Politico reshaped Washington coverage with its blanket reporting on all things political, rapid-fire blog posts, morning email blasts and in-depth tracking of elections and legislative happenings. That later paved the way for a move toward events and high-price subscription services.
In a memo to employees, Politico publisher Robert Allbritton said the company wasn’t commenting on potential deal talks, adding that the company might seek to eventually combine Politico and Politico Europe into a single publication.
Axel Springer, which in recent years has been ramping up its U.S. publishing operations, was recently in talks to buy Axios, a digital-news publisher. Axios executives told investors in July it was reluctant to do a deal with Axel Springer and was inclined to remain independent, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Axios declined to comment.
Axios was launched by Jim VandeHei, Roy Schwartz and journalist Mike Allen in 2017 after the three left Politico. The company, which specializes in short, newsy stories and concise newsletters, cast a wider net beyond politics with coverage of media, technology and finance.
Sports-media outlet the Athletic was in merger talks with Axios earlier this year, people familiar with the situation said, but the discussion didn’t move forward.
