Axel Springer buys Business Insider for $442m | M&M Global

Axel Springer buys Business Insider for $442m

German publishing house Axel Springer has acquired Business Insider for around $450m.

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The Welt and Bild publisher will own 97% of Business Insider, having bought a further 88% for $343m using existing credit lines. American entrepreneur Jeff Bezos’ investment arm will own the remaining 3%.

The acquisition of the New York-based online magazine is aimed to broaden Axel Springer’s global scope, whilst increasing the range of English-language digital journalism by two thirds to approximately 200m users, making the company one of the world’s six largest digital publishers in terms of reach.

Founder, chief executive officer and editor-in-chief Henry Blodget and chief operating officer and president Julie Hansen will continue to lead Business Insider in their respective roles.

“We have tremendous respect for Axel Springer’s commitment to independent journalism and its global vision for the future,” said Blodget. “We look forward to working together to build a major global news organisation for the digital century.”

Business Insider, which launched eight years ago and has editions in seven countries outside of the US, is purely digital with a focus on millennials. It employs around 325 people, around half of whom are journalists.

“Henry Blodget’s way of digital storytelling reaches tomorrow’s decision-makers,” said Axel Springer SE chief exec Mathias Döpfner. “Combining our forces will allow us to unlock growth potential and expand Business Insider’s portfolio to new verticals, new locations and new digital content.”

A new German edition will be introduced in the fourth quarter of this year.

Anna Dobbie

Reporter

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