All Brands Owned by Axel Springer SE

Who owns Axel Springer?

Friede Springer and Mathias Döpfner hold roughly 95 percent of Axel Springer SE, with Döpfner exercising sole voting control under a shareholder agreement. Axel Sven Springer and the Friede Springer Foundation hold the rest. The company has been family-owned since April 2025.

Is Axel Springer publicly traded?

No. Axel Springer delisted from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2020 after the KKR take-private and has remained private. It now describes itself as a debt-free family-owned company.

What happened between Axel Springer and KKR?

KKR and CPP Investments took Axel Springer private in 2019-2020 and held a 48.54 percent stake. In April 2025 the parties split: the investors received majority ownership of classifieds businesses The Stepstone Group and AVIV, while the media and commerce assets reverted to the Springer family and Döpfner.

What brands does Axel Springer own?

Its portfolio includes BILD, WELT, POLITICO, BUSINESS INSIDER, Morning Brew, Bisnow, idealo, Bonial, Awin, Emarketer, and the Ringier Axel Springer joint venture publishing FAKT, FORBES, NEWSWEEK, and ONET in Poland. It also holds 10 percent of Stepstone and AVIV.

How much revenue does Axel Springer generate?

Axel Springer reported €2.2 billion in pro forma group revenue for 2025, slightly above the prior year, with adjusted EBIT of €241.4 million and adjusted EBITDA of €364 million. Q1 2026 revenue rose 2.6 percent year over year.

Where is Axel Springer headquartered?

The company is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, on Axel-Springer-Strasse, near both its historic high-rise publishing house and the newer Axel Springer Campus designed by OMA.