Axel Springer, parent of Insider, is buying Politico and Protocol for $1 billion

German publisher Axel Springer announced Thursday that it plans to acquire digital media site Politico for about $1 billion, reports Lauren Feiner of CNBC.

Feiner reports, “The acquisition grows the publishing group’s portfolio in the U.S. further, adding to its ownership of Insider and Morning Brew. Axel Springer is the German publishing giant behind major news outlets like Bild and Die Welt in the country. It recently went private and continues to invest in U.S. digital media companies.

“Axel Springer and Politico were already in a joint venture partnership since 2014, when Politico Europe launched, according to a press release. That news site has been profitable since 2019, the announcement said.

“Axel Springer was reportedly in talks to buy Politico’s rival Axios earlier this summer.

“Politico founder and publisher Robert Allbritton will continue in that role for both Politico and sibling tech site Protocol, according to the release.”

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Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.