Axel Springer reportedly in talks to buy ownership stake in Politico

By: Alexandra S.

Axel Springer is in talks to buy an ownership stake in Washington-based news publisher Politico, according to a report late Monday.

The deal talks may include a full buyout of Politico, the Wall Street Journal said, citing anonymous sources. The talks could also fall through.

Axel Springer declined to comment. Politico did not return requests for comment.

The German publisher is not new to Politico’s business. Axel Springer teamed up with the publisher in 2014 to launch Politico’s European edition the following year in a 50-50 joint venture. That division is based in Brussels with offices across Europe.

Axel Springer, owner of German newspapers Bild and Die Welt, has been building up a stable of digital media holdings in recent years. The company bought Business Insider in 2015 for $500 million and newsletter publisher Morning Brew in 2020.

Politico was founded in 2007 with the mission to cover Washington, DC, in a new way, giving readers a peek at the inner workings of the political machine. The site included blog posts, morning email newsletters, in-depth coverage of elections and legislative news, as well as high-priced subscription services.

The Journal said Politico publisher Robert Allbritton circulated a memo to employees that said the company might seek to eventually combine Politico and Politico Europe into one publication. He did not comment on potential deal talks.

Most recently, Axel Springer was in talks to buy Axios, the digital news publisher launched by Jim VandeHei, Roy Schwartz and journalist Mike Allen.

The trio left Politico in 2017 to launch the site, which specializes in newsletters and short-form stories across a host of topics from technology and politics to media and business. According to the Journal, Axios executives told investors last month that it was “reluctant” to do a deal with the German publisher, instead opting to remain independent.

Subscription-based sports media site The Athletic was in merger talks with Axios earlier this year, the Journal said, but those talks stalled.