Axel Springer, KKR considering split of German media giant, sources say

German media giant Axel Springer, which owns Germany’s popular Bild tabloid and U.S. news site Politico, is considering a split of the company together with private equity KKR, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

A potential deal would separate its media assets from its digital classifieds operation, handing the former to CEO Mathias Doepfner and the founder’s widow Friede Springer, and the latter to KKR and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the sources said.

The Financial Times first reported on the break-up talks.

The sources told Reuters this was the most likely plan but that many details remained open. It was unclear when a decision would be taken.

Axel Springer founded the company in 1946 and grew it into a sprawling empire encompassing influential right-leaning media titles as well as a portfolio of classifieds websites, including jobs platform Stepstone and real estate ads unit Aviv. Reuters