(Bloomberg) -- KKR & Co. and German billionaire Mathias Döpfner are discussing dismantling media conglomerate Axel Springer, splitting the media assets from digital advertising, the Financial Times reported.
Döpfner, chief executive officer of Axel Springer, and Friede Springer, the widow of the company’s founder, would assume greater control over the media properties, including the US news sites Politico and Business Insider, and the German publications Bild and Die Welt, the newspaper reported, citing four unidentified people with knowledge of the matter.
KKR and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, who combined hold the largest stake in Axel Springer, would take over the portfolio of classified ad websites, including jobs platform StepStone and real estate ads unit Aviv, according to the report.
The split could help pave the way for KKR to exit its investment five years after partnering with Döpfner to take Axel Springer private, the paper said.
A representative for Axel Springer didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
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