Germany’s Axel Springer has announced a deal to acquire POLITICO, including the rest of their POLITICO Europe joint venture.
POLITICO has risen quickly in the journalism industry, over the course of its 15-year existence, and has become a major player in the political news field. The company now employs more than 500 journalists, writing for POLITICO and its sibling publication Protocol.
Since 2014, Axel Springer and POLITICO have partnered on their joint POLITICO Europe venture, a venture which has been profitable since 2019.
Axel Springer is now purchasing POLITICO, giving it full control of the company, along with the two companies European joint venture.
“POLITICO’s outstanding team has disrupted digital political journalism and set new standards. A true North Star,” said Mathias Döpfner, CEO Axel Springer. “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.”
“My 15-year adventure with POLITICO has been the ride of a lifetime,” said Robert L. Allbritton, Founder and Publisher of POLITICO and Protocol. “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.”