BERLIN & WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The publishing group Axel Springer signed an agreement to acquire POLITICO, including the remaining 50 percent share of its current joint venture POLITICO Europe, as well as the tech news website Protocol from Robert Allbritton.
POLITICO will complement and strengthen Axel Springer’s portfolio with an authoritative voice offering inside perspective and analysis of politics and policy in Washington D.C., across the U.S., and around the globe. Together with INSIDER and Morning Brew, which are already part of the company’s portfolio, Axel Springer’s U.S.-headquartered news brands will have a significant reach.
Over its 15-year history, POLITICO has emerged as one of the world’s most-influential news sources, and one of the preeminent models of successful media innovation in the 21st Century. Today, more than 500 journalists at POLITICO and its sibling publication Protocol, launched in 2020, help set the agenda on the most urgent issues dominating the global public policy landscape. With significant revenue derived from high-value business-to-business subscriptions and advertising, the publishing model has produced steady growth and healthy profits, and has a proven strategy for further robust expansion moving forward.
Axel Springer and POLITICO in the U.S. have been joint venture partners since 2014 when they launched POLITICO Europe. The Brussels-based publication has since become an indispensable source of information in the EU and has continuously grown both its newsroom and its revenues and has been profitable since 2019.
Mathias Döpfner, CEO Axel Springer, commented: “POLITICO’s outstanding team has disrupted digital political journalism and set new standards. 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.”
Robert L. Allbritton, Founder and Publisher of POLITICO and Protocol: “My 15-year adventure with POLITICO has been the ride of a lifetime. I reach this milestone with a sense of satisfaction that I hope is shared by every POLITICO. Together we have built what is without a doubt the most impressive and most enduring of the many experiments in new publications over the past generation. Particularly in recent years, we have put the emphasis on doing rather than boasting, and what multiple competitors have aspired to—a consistently profitable publication that supports true journalistic excellence—we have achieved.
Above all, I have always known that ownership is about responsibility. 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. As I have often said, I would only welcome a new investor that reflected my values and POLITICO’s 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.”
Robert Allbritton will continue as publisher of POLITICO and Protocol. The editorial and management leadership teams of POLITICO in the U.S., POLITICO Europe and Protocol will remain in place, and will continue to operate their publications separately from Axel Springer’s other brands headquartered in the U.S. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the deal terms. Subject to regulatory approval, closing of the transaction is expected in Q4 2021.
About Axel Springer
Axel Springer is a media and technology company and active in more than 40 countries. By providing information across its diverse media brands (amongst others BILD, WELT, INSIDER, POLITICO Europe) and classified portals (StepStone Group and AVIV Group), Axel Springer SE empowers people to make free decisions for their lives. Today, the transformation from a traditional print media company to Europe’s leading digital publisher has been successfully accomplished. The next goal has been set: Axel Springer aims to become global market leader in digital content and digital classifieds through accelerated growth. The company is headquartered in Berlin and employs more than 16,000 people worldwide.
About POLITICO
POLITICO is the global authority on the intersection of politics, policy, and power. It is the most robust news operation and information service in the world specializing in politics and policy, which informs the most influential audience in the world insight, edge, and authority. Founded in 2007, POLITICO has grown to a team of 700 working across North America, more than half of whom are editorial staff. POLITICO Europe, its seven-year-old European edition has grown to nearly 200 employees. Early this year it acquired E&E News, the renowned news organization focused solely on energy and the environment.
About Protocol
Protocol is a leading digital media company focused on the people, power and politics of tech. Technology is no longer just an industry; it’s a global power center with the sweep and impact of any nation’s capital. At Protocol, we cover it with no agenda and just one goal: to arm the most senior decision-makers in tech, business and public policy with the unbiased news and analysis they need to navigate a world undergoing rapid change. Launched in 2020, Protocol covers U.S. and China “big tech” in addition to areas such as enterprise technology, fintech and the evolving tech workplace. Protocol’s team includes reporters in San Francisco, New York, Washington, D.C. and London.
