Axel Springer’s U.S. expansion plans

Nicola Clark of The New York Times writes about German publisher Axel Springer and its recent pursuit of the Financial Times and acquisition of Business Insider.

Clark writes, “Mr. Döpfner’s boldest pursuit in the last year was one that ultimately failed. Over the summer, Axel Springer lost out in a bid to acquire The Financial Times, beaten in the final stages by a $1.3 billion offer from the Japanese publisher Nikkei. Still, it was a big move that highlighted the company’s hunger for expansion. Followed quickly by the acquisition of Business Insider, it provided fresh momentum to the company’s push into the English-speaking world and fueled speculation that Axel Springer was far from done in increasing its digital firepower.

“‘I would not exclude that, in 10 years’ time, our company could be 100 percent digital’ in terms of revenues, ‘and 80 or even 90 percent international,’ compared with about 50 percent today, Mr. Döpfner said as he took in the panoramic view of the German capital from his glass-walled office. ‘And that given the scale of the U.S. market, the largest part of our English-language business will be in the United States.’

“Axel Springer considers Business Insider, with its younger, digital-savvy readership, to be its ‘anchor investment in the United States,’ said Jens Müffelmann, 49, the chief executive of the group’s digital ventures, who in January will become head of Axel Springer’s growing United States operations. The acquisition follows a series of smaller bets on more than a dozen American digital start-ups whose activities generally fall within one of three categories: media content, marketing and classified advertising.”

Read more here.