Business Insider Sells 88% of Business to Axel Springer

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By Jacob Maslow

Axel Springer SE, a German media company, has taken over Business Insider Inc. The company purchased 88% of Business Insider in a deal valued at $343 million. Currently, the company now owns 97% of Business Insider, with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos owning the remaining 3%.

Axel Springer has been trying to break into the English-language news sector and recently lost a bidding war with Nikkei Inc. for the Financial Times. The British newspaper was acquired for $1.3 billion in July.

Europe’s biggest publisher, Springer states that Business Insider allows the company to continue its strategy to offer further digital news to English-language sectors.

Founded in 2007, Business Insider Inc. is a web-only publication that has expanded outside of the United States into most notably the United Kingdom, Singapore and Australia. The publication has also recently expanded into the tech sector with the addition of the Tech Insider website.

Julie Hansen, the company’s Chief Operating Officer, and founder Henry Blodget, the current CEO, will remain in their respective roles with Business Insider.

Earlier in the year, Axel Springer purchased a stake in Business Insider for $25 million. The acquisition of Business Insider will need to be approved by antitrust authorities before the takeover is finalized.

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