Axel Springer Signs Deal To Buy POLITICO

ROSSLYN, VA — Axel Springer, a European publishing group, announced Thursday that it had signed a deal to purchase POLITICO, according to a post on Businesswire. Protocol, a news website launched in 2020 and owned by Robert Allbritton, is also part of the purchase deal.

“POLITICO’s outstanding team has disrupted digital political journalism and set new standards," said Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer. "A true North Star. It will be a privilege and a special responsibility to help shape the future of this outstanding media company. Objective quality journalism is more important than ever, and we mutually believe in the necessity of editorial independence and nonpartisan reporting. This is crucial for our future success and accelerated growth.”

Axel Springer and POLITICO first became partners with the joint launch of POLITICO Europe in 2014. Based in Brussels, the publication covers the European Union. As part of the purchase agreement, Allbritton, founder and publisher of POLITICO, agreed to sell his 50 percent share in POLITICO Europe to Axel Springer.

POLITICO, with its headquarters on Wilson Boulevard in Rosslyn, and its companion publication Protocol employ more than 500 journalists.

“My 15-year adventure with POLITICO has been the ride of a lifetime," Allbritton said. "I reach this milestone with a sense of satisfaction that I hope is shared by every POLITICO. Together we have built what is without a doubt the most impressive and most enduring of the many experiments in new publications over the past generation. Particularly in recent years, we have put the emphasis on doing rather than boasting, and what multiple competitors have aspired to — a consistently profitable publication that supports true journalistic excellence — we have achieved."