Axel Springer SE

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Axel Springer SE

logo
legal form Societas Europaea
founding 1946
Seat Berlin , GermanyGermanyGermany 
management
  • Jan Bayer (Board Member News Media International )
  • Julian Deutz (Chief Financial Officer)
  • Andreas Wiele (Board Member Classifieds Media )
  • Ralph Büchi (Chairman of the Supervisory Board)
Number of employees 16,120 (2019)
sales 3.1 billion euros (2019)
Branch media
Website www.axelspringer.de
As of December 31, 2019

Axel Springer House on Rudi-Dutschke-Strasse , Berlin (2010)

The Axel Springer SE is a publishing group with a range of multimedia brands like image , the world , the world (TV station, formerly N24 ), Business Insider and this fact , since 2020 mostly in the hands of the US private equity firm KKR .

The company is based in the Axel Springer House in Berlin and is active in more than 40 countries with subsidiaries, joint ventures and licenses. Axel Springer's business is divided into the four operating segments of advertising platforms ( Classifieds Media ), content creation and financing ( News Media ), marketing ( Marketing Media ) and the Services / Holding segment . In the 2019 financial year, around 16,120 employees generated consolidated sales of around EUR 3.1 billion. Digital activities contribute around 73% to sales.

history

post war period

Springer high-rise in Hamburg (2004), the company's headquarters from 1956 to 1967

In 1946, Axel Springer and his father, the publisher Hinrich Springer , founded the Axel Springer Verlag (ASV) in Hamburg as a GmbH . The first publications were the Hörzu and the Nordwestdeutsche Hefte . Bild and the Hamburger Abendblatt followed in the next few years . In 1953 Springer acquired the newspaper Die Welt , from which the Welt am Sonntag and Das neue Blatt emerged. In 1959 Springer expanded his stake in Ullstein Verlag , which published the BZ and Berliner Morgenpost papers in Berlin , to a majority stake.

In 1966, the publishing house built the Axel Springer skyscraper as its headquarters right next to the Berlin Wall in Berlin-Kreuzberg . The publishing house was converted into a stock corporation in 1970 .

1980s and 1990s

When it went public in 1985, Axel Springer sold 49.23 percent of the publisher's shares. The publisher Axel Springer died on September 22, 1985. As a result, the media entrepreneur Leo Kirch acquired a 10 percent stake in the company, which he increased to 26 percent in 1992 and then increased again in June 1993 to a total of 40 percent.

In 1988 the publisher entered the new media market with Sat.1 Text . Participations in the telephone service provider CompuTel as well as the television stations Hamburg 1 and Business TV International followed .

Realignment from the 1990s

After the reunification of Germany , the publishing house expanded its activities in other European countries. Subsidiaries and holdings in Central Europe , Spain , France and Switzerland were founded and expanded.

In 1999 the group acquired stakes in Schwartzkopff TV-Productions and Studio Hamburg . After the merger of the TV stations Pro7 and Sat.1 , he has a stake in ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG .

After the Kirch group had registered for bankruptcy , Leo Kirch stepped down from the supervisory board of Springer Verlag in October 2002. The Kirch share package of 40 percent was initially taken over by Deutsche Bank and Friede Springer in October . Deutsche Bank's shares were sold in 2003 to the US private equity group Hellman & Friedman (for EUR 350 million, 19.4 percent) and Friede Springer. The widow of the publisher's founder thus holds the simple majority of the shares in the stock corporation.

At a general meeting in April 2003, the shareholders decided, among other things, to rename the company to Axel Springer AG and to adopt a new corporate design .

The failed takeover of ProSiebenSat.1

At the beginning of 2005, Springer AG was only involved in the Hamburg local station Hamburg 1 and in two production companies.

In the summer of 2005, Springer announced that she wanted to significantly expand her previous stake in ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG (the TV stations ProSieben , Sat.1 , Kabel 1 , N24 , 9Live ) and, in addition to all (voting) ordinary shares, also around a quarter of the preferred shares. The Springer Group's bid to the investor group around the American Haim Saban was four billion euros. The fact was not without a certain irony : Saban had acquired the TV group in 2003 for an inexpensive 500 million euros; the Springer group was afraid of a takeover (which was much cheaper at the time).

In November 2005, the takeover was provisionally prohibited. The KEK media commission criticized a monopoly of opinion when the Bild-Zeitung and ProSiebenSat.1 were in one hand. As a compromise, she proposed an advisory board that should take over the content and economic control of one of the two major broadcasters ProSieben or Sat.1. In an interim decision by the Federal Cartel Office in the same month, the Federal Cartel Office indicated that the merger was probably not approvable due to excessive economic concentration in the media market. However, Springer wanted to retain full economic control over the broadcasters and neither wanted to sell either of them. In return, the company offered to part with cross-shareholdings with the media group Bertelsmann and also to sell the publisher's five program guides.

The KEK rated the offer as insufficient and therefore announced in January 2006 that it could confirm the Springer takeover of ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG as not being unobjectionable under media concentration law: Springer would either have to part with Bild-Zeitung or one of the two major TV broadcaster (Sat.1 or ProSieben ) had to be separated from the conglomerate before a takeover by Springer. Thereupon Springer offered the sale of ProSieben on January 11, but withdrew the offer on January 16. Reason: Before the takeover, Springer could not sell a TV station that did not even belong to him in formal legal terms. In addition, Haim Saban seemed to be negative about the project, which the TV stations only seemed to be willing to hand over as a complete package.

At the end of January 2006, the Federal Cartel Office finally prohibited the Springer Group from taking over ProSiebenSat.1. Springer could only take action against this in two ways: with a lawsuit against the Federal Cartel Office or by obtaining a ministerial permit, which would have to be applied for within one month after a definitive vote by the Federal Cartel Office. The ministerial decision should then have been made within four months.

On the other hand, Springer, only one of the state media authorities, was able to appeal against the KEK's negative decision. The state media authorities of Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate announced this on January 26th. (A KEK vote can be revoked with a three-quarters majority of the votes of the 15 media authorities within the framework of the conference of the directors of the state media authorities ).

On February 1, 2006, the Springer Group surprisingly announced that it was finally withdrawing from its takeover plans. Springer no longer wants to submit to a lengthy and consequently unpredictable procedure. They are turning to digital markets and want to expand abroad. Nevertheless, the publishing house announced on February 24th that it would appeal against the decision of the Federal Cartel Office to the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court. The process should create legal certainty for future acquisitions, since the company would hardly see any room for acquisitions in Germany if the grounds for prohibition were maintained.

In November 2008, shortly before the verdict of the lawsuit, the Springer Group continued to show great interest in entering the television business. As before, the takeover of ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG was mentioned as an option;

In May 2007 the group bought Zanox.de AG together with PubliGroupe AG . Around 214.9 million euros were paid for this. In June 2007, the Zurich-based company Jean Frey , which belongs to Springer, took over the magazines Tele , TV4 and TV2 from the Swiss Ringier publishing house. Also in June 2007 the group bought 41.4% of the French women’s internet portal operator auFeminin.com. Springer paid 284 million euros for this.

On June 28, 2007 it was announced that Springer is taking over the postal service provider PIN Group for EUR 510 million.

In December 2008, the publisher announced that all events in 2009, including the awards of the Golden Camera , the Osgar Media Prize and the Golden Steering Wheel , as well as the New Year's reception and the summer festival will be canceled. The reason for the rejection was the international financial crisis . The publisher wanted to prevent layoffs with the austerity measure.

Joint venture with Ringier in Central Europe

Journalists' club in the Axel Springer high-rise

On March 23, 2010, Axel Springer AG and the largest Swiss media company, Ringier AG, announced their intention to found a joint holding company based in Zurich , in which the two companies each hold 50 percent. Axel Springer AG is making a cash contribution of 50 million euros into the joint venture and also pays around 125 million euros in compensation to Ringier. In this holding company, which is to go public in three to five years, the activities in the Central European market of the two groups will be bundled. Axel Springer AG brings the business of its subsidiaries in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, Ringier its business in Serbia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The two companies together already have over 100 print titles (34 newspapers, 73 magazines) and over 70 online offers on the market (as of March 2010). Based on the business figures for 2009, this would result in sales of around 414 million euros (500 million  Swiss francs ) and an EBITDA of 62 million euros (74 million SFr) and around 4800 employees. The holding company's CEO will be Florian Fels, who had only changed from his position as CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of Axel Springer Polska to Ringier at the beginning of 2010 and became CEO of the new Central Europe Group Management. Ralph Büchi, President of Axel Springer International, will become Chairman of the Board of Directors with equal representation. In 2002, Axel Springer AG was said to have been interested in buying Ringier AG. On July 1, 2007, Springer acquired the German-language TV program guides TELE , TV4 and TV2 from Ringier through its Swiss subsidiary Jean Frey AG .

From 2010

Editorial room

In March 2010, the Russian antitrust authorities approved the takeover of the Russian subsidiary of the Gruner + Jahr magazine group by Axel Springer Russia. These include Russian editions of the Geo title family ( Geo , Geo Lenok , Geo Traveler ) and the Gala Biografia , which are to be continued under license under the same title, as well as the corresponding Internet portals. Axel Springer Russia already publishes the Russian licensed editions of Forbes Magazine , Computer Bild and the celebrity magazine OK! and also operates the associated Internet portals.

80 percent of the Russia subsidiary should be sold again in 2015 due to a new law, since foreign publishers are not allowed to hold more than a 20 percent stake in Russian mass media. Axel Springer wants to sell 80 percent of the shares in its subsidiary to Alexander Fedotow's Artcom Media Group. According to Axel Springer, the remaining shares are to be taken over by his previous Russia General Director Regina von Flemming.

On December 2, 2013, the company announced the conversion from an AG to a European stock corporation ( Societas Europaea / SE). The publisher justified this step by saying that "the new legal form ... should underline and facilitate the company's European and international market orientation".

Axel Springer new building on July 1, 2019

From April 2016, Axel Springer SE had a new publishing house built next to the Axel-Springer-Haus on the corner of Zimmerstrasse and Axel-Springer-Strasse on a plot of around 10,000 m². The new building was designed by the architect Rem Koolhaas . According to Springer's self-portrayal, "The extraordinary architecture [...] should not only (stand) for the future of work, it is also a symbol for the digital transformation of Axel Springer." The foundation stone was laid on May 2, 2017. The thirteen-storey office building with a total rental area of ​​52,000 m² will serve as a workplace for around 3500 employees. In July 2017 it was announced that Springer had sold the property to the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund , Norges Bank Real Estate Management , for 425 million euros . After completion of the building, the symbolic handover of the keys took place on December 19, 2019. As soon as the rooms are set up and furnished, various areas and companies of Axel Springer SE will gradually move in from spring 2020.

Entry of KKR

On June 12, 2019, the company announced that it had entered into an agreement with US subsidiary KKR . In it, KKR announced a voluntary takeover offer of 63 euros per share, which the company valued at EUR 6.8 billion. Friede Springer and Mathias Döpfner, who together own 45.4% of the publishing house through direct and indirect holdings, will keep their shares. In addition, the agreement stipulates that no decisions at shareholder level can be made without the consent of Friede Springer. Further conditions are a minimum acceptance rate of the offer of 20% and the antitrust approval. KKR plans to restructure the group and after about five to seven years pass the shares on at a profit. The continuation of the world is subject to its financial income. After two acceptance periods had expired, KKR achieved a 42.5% stake in Axel Springer SE in August 2019. Because the free float fell to 5% as a result, the share had to leave the MDAX stock market index on August 29, 2019 . As of April 6, 2020, the share will no longer be listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Over-the-counter trading on the Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich and Stuttgart stock exchanges as well as Tradegate Exchange will also be terminated.

Publications, participations, marketing

Publications

The previous core business was publishing and web offset printing of daily newspapers and magazines . In addition to the national newspapers Bild and Die Welt , which still belong to Springer today, and the Berlin tabloid BZ , the Berlin and Hamburg local newspapers ( Berliner Morgenpost and Hamburger Abendblatt ) were particularly noteworthy. In addition to Hörzu , the company also published the television magazines BildWoche , Funk Uhr , TV Neu and TV Digital .

On July 25, 2013, Axel Springer SE announced that it had published a number of magazines ( Hörzu , TV Digital , Funk Uhr , Bildwoche , TV Neu , Bild der Frau und Frau von heute ) as well as the daily newspapers Berliner Morgenpost and Hamburger Abendblatt for a total of I will sell 920 million euros to the Funke media group on January 1, 2014 . When the deal is completed, however, only 660 million euros of the purchase price will flow to Springer, while Funke will receive the remaining 260 million euros as a loan from the seller himself. On July 27, 2013, the group also announced the sale of the French magazine publisher PGP to the French Reworld Media.

The takeover of the regional newspapers and women's magazines was already permitted without restrictions by the Federal Cartel Office on December 3, 2013, and the sale of the TV guides was finally approved on April 29, 2014 subject to certain conditions. So Funke had to undertake to resell several titles to the Klambt media group . The sale took effect on May 1, 2014.

Holdings

Printing machines in Berlin-Spandau
Sorting systems

In addition to its core business, the company has its own printing works and is involved in press wholesale. Investments in online services have been acquired in recent years. The company is increasingly adapting to online journalism and the new media in general by offering paid content on the Internet and for mobile phones.

marketing

Since January 2008, the Axel Springer Media Impact division has been bundling the marketing of the Group's national media offerings. The classifieds portal quoka.de is one of these media offers. With more than 500 employees, the marketer achieved total sales of more than 500 million euros in 2009. National and regional advertising sales in the medium and small customer segment are served by the subsidiary Axel Springer Media Impact Dienstleistungs-GmbH.

Principles

In 1967, Axel Springer formulated five ideological principles that are still binding for every employee today. After the reunification on October 3, 1990, the first principle was changed. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 , today's third principle was drawn up. In today's version, the principles are:

"1. We stand up for freedom, the rule of law, democracy and a united Europe.
"2. We support the Jewish people and the right of the State of Israel to exist.
"3. We show our solidarity in the free community of values ​​with the United States of America.
"4. We are committed to a free and social market economy.
"5. We reject political and religious extremism. "

- The essentials. Axel Springer SE, accessed on April 27, 2017 .

Shareholders and governing bodies

Shareholders

proportion of Shareholders
47.6% KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.)
42.6% Peace Springer
5.0% Axel Sven Springer
2.8% Mathias Döpfner
1.0% Ariane Melanie Springer
0.9% Other shareholdings

Board

  • Mathias Döpfner (CEO since 01/2002, Board member since 07/2000)
  • Jan Bayer (Head of News Media since 01/2012)
  • Stephanie Caspar (Head of Technology and Data since 03/2018)
  • Julian Deutz (Head of Finance and Human Resources since 04/2014, Board member since 01/2014)
  • Andreas Wiele (Board Member Classifieds Media , Board member since 10/2000)

Supervisory board

Former members of the supervisory board and management board

Former members of the supervisory board and management board

Formerly on the board of directors

  • Giuseppe Vita (chair 07/2002 to 04/2019, member 06/2001-04/2019)
  • William E. Ford, also known as Bill Ford (08 / 2016-04 / 2018)
  • Rudolf Knepper (01/2013–04/2018)
  • Wolf Lepenies (2004–2008 / 2016)
  • Gerhard Cromme (2002-2014)
  • Michael Otto (at least since 2000–2014)
  • Klaus Krone (2002-2014)
  • Brian M. Powers (Member of the Board November 2003 to May 2010)
  • Bernhard Servatius (Chairman of the Supervisory Board from 1985 to June 30, 2002)
  • Leo Kirch (July 1993 - October 2002)
  • Axel Sven Springer (Supervisory Board June 2001 to April 20, 2005)
  • Leonhard Fischer (Supervisory Board 2002 until April 19, 2007)
  • Michael Lewis (Member of the Board April 19, 2007 to September 30, 2012)
  • Heinrich V. Prinz Reuss (Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board 1973–1980)
  • Eberhard von Brauchitsch (Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board 1971–1973)
  • Christian Kracht (Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board until 1971 and 1980 to 1983)
  • Heinz Ullstein (1970 to 1971)

Former board member

  • Lothar Lanz (Chief Financial Officer 2009-2014)
  • Ralph Büchi (Board Member International 2012-2014)
  • Steffen Naumann (Board member November 2001 to April 2009)
  • Hubertus Meyer-Burckhardt (Board Member December 2001 to June 2004)
  • Claus Larass (Board member 1998 to 2003)
  • August A. Fischer (CEO from January 1998 to December 2001)
  • Rudolf Knepper (08 / 1994-12 / 2011)
  • Jürgen Richter (CEO from May 1994 to December 31, 1997)
  • Günter Prinz (from 1991 deputy chairman of the board and from 1993 to 1994 chairman of the board)
  • Günter Wille (CEO 1991 to November 1993)
  • Peter Tamm (CEO from 1968 or 1982 until July 10, 1991)
  • Erhard van Straaten (Board member from 1985 to August 1991)
  • Hans-Peter Scherrer (Board member until August 31, 1991)
  • Christian Herfurth (board member until August 31, 1991)
  • Wolfgang Müller (board member until August 31, 1991)

education

The group has been running its own journalism school in Hamburg and Berlin since 1986 , which has been operating under the name Axel Springer Academy since 2007 , and provides training in several commercial and technical professions.

Awards

  • The Axel Springer Prize for Young Journalists is a journalism prize that has been awarded annually by the Axel Springer Academy since 1991. The award ceremony takes place on May 2nd, the birthday of the founder Axel Springer, who died in 1985, in Berlin.
  • On the occasion of the meeting of the Art Directors Club (ADC) in Berlin, Axel Springer AG has been awarding an annual “Journalist Prize for Pioneering Print Advertising” since 1993.

Controversy and media criticism

Axel Springer Verlag was and is often the focus of criticism, on the one hand because of the conservative attitude of many of its publications (which has also been formulated in the so-called principles), on the other hand because of the presumed superiority in the German press market.

Protests in the 1960s

For the extra-parliamentary opposition , Springer-Verlag was an object of radical criticism due to its exposed political and economic position. On February 1, 1968, a “Springer Tribunal” met at the Free University of Berlin , at which Peter Schneider appeared as a speaker: “Let's talk about the crimes against society the Springer press commits, and why Springer, whom we don't actually hang up, not even put in jail, which we would only like to see employed in some productive occupation, for example as a men's tailor, why Springer must be expropriated ”. In the period that followed, a far-reaching campaign against the "Springer press" unfolded. In addition to its dominant position in the market , Bild was especially accused of “misusing the freedom of the press to incite people”. In the period that followed, "expropriated Springer" became a central slogan of the 1968 movement. As Peter Schneider later reported, the anti-Springer campaign was financially supported by the publishers Rudolf Augstein , Henri Nannen and Gerd Bucerius , who compete with Springer .

Well-known intellectuals from left-wing and liberal circles such as Theodor Adorno , Hans Paul Bahrdt , Heinrich Böll , Peter Brückner , Ludwig von Friedeburg , Eugen Kogon , Golo Mann , Alexander Mitscherlich , Heinrich Popitz , Helge Pross and others signed a declaration that said: "The alliance of carefree consumer journalism and resurgent nationalist ideology, which the democratically committed students and intellectuals have for years as 'left-wing mob', 'pus', 'academic bums', 'mob', 'intellectual yogis', 'neurotics', 'screamers' and denigrates 'gossips', the self-image of Germans in a world of peaceful understanding, advancing enlightenment and cooperation, even between different social systems, threatens to be destroyed again. "

The protests intensified after the assassination attempt on Rudi Dutschke on April 11, 1968 by Josef Bachmann . Contrary to popular belief, the Bild newspaper did not refer to Rudi Dutschke as “Public Enemy No. 1”, but the federal board of the Socialist German Student Union blamed the Berlin Senate and the Springer newspapers for the attack: “We consider those who made the attack on Dutschke possible as the real culprits and will hold them accountable. "On the day of the attack, demonstrators shouted in front of the Springer high-rise:" Springer - murderer. "

In the following "Easter riots", the delivery of Springer newspapers from printing plants was blocked nationwide. This led to the most severe violent confrontations between demonstrators and police forces in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany. Springer critics drew historical parallels to the decline of Weimar democracy , which was marked by murder incitement in the newspapers and political assassinations. Previously, Springer-Verlag newspapers had repeatedly emphasized that the student movement, whose form of protest of the “happening” had been anticipated by Joseph Goebbels , “corresponds exactly to the essence of fascism”.

Less than a week after the Dutschke attack and the “Easter riots”, the newspaper “Bild” cheered: “Finally! Rapid courts against the ringleaders! ”When a Munich resident was sentenced to seven months in prison because he was charged with“ having participated in an SDS campaign against the publisher ”.

Criticism in literature

Heinrich Böll published his short story Die Lost Ehre der Katharina Blum in 1974 , in which he sharply criticized the tabloid press . Böll himself came into the line of fire of the Springer-Blätter, for which Günter Grass sharply criticized the publisher and refused for decades to grant interviews or reprinting rights until the publisher apologized to Böll's family.

In 1977 Günter Wallraff worked for three and a half months as an editor at the Bild newspaper . In his experience report The lead story. The man who was with "Bild" Hans Esser, he shows the Bild newspaper serious journalistic omissions and improper research methods. Axel Springer AG then sued Wallraff several times.

Spelling reform

The 1996 spelling reform was rejected by many of the publisher's journalists. After the reform was initially adopted in 1999, a decision was made in 2004 to have its own house orthography based on the "classic spelling". This was expanded again in August 2005 to around 350 pages. At the same time, a high-profile campaign against the reform was started (“bad spelling reform”).

In March 2006, the group announced that it would adopt the resolution of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of March 2 for the reformed spelling in accordance with the proposals of the German Spelling Council for all products from August 1, but to largely use the "classic" spelling for optional spellings . Mathias Döpfner commented on the earlier rejection in the Süddeutsche Zeitung with the following words: “The approach was completely correct. But we underestimated the political impact. That was naive. Because the attacks began immediately, a cartel had usurped rights that alone belonged to parliament and the legislature. Why do politicians actually have more rights than those who live from language: writers, journalists, publishers? ”Finally, in June 2006, the publisher announced that all media would follow the Duden's recommendations for writing reformed spelling.

literature

  • Heinz Grossmann, Oskar Negt (ed.): The resurrection of violence. Springer blockade and political reaction in the Federal Republic. European Publishing House, Frankfurt 1968.
  • Claus Jacobi: 50 years of Axel Springer Verlag. 1946-1996. Axel Springer Verlag, Berlin and Hamburg 1996.
  • Hans Dieter Müller: The Springer Group. A critical study. P. Piper Verlag, Munich 1968.
  • Gudrun Kruip: The “world” - “image” from Axel Springer Verlag. Journalism between Western values ​​and German traditions of thought. Oldenbourg, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-486-56343-2 .
  • Stefan Wolle , Jochen Staadt and Tobias Voigt: Feind-Bild Springer - A publishing house and its opponents. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2009, ISBN 978-3-525-36381-2 .
  • Kai-Axel Aanderud: Axel Springer and German Unity . Mittler, Hamburg 2019, ISBN 978-3-8132-0992-1 .

Web links

Commons : Axel Springer SE  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Annual Report 2019 , February 19, 2020, accessed on June 10, 2020.
  2. Axel Springer has a new major shareholder. US financial investor Hellman & Friedman takes over 19.4 percent of Europe's largest newspaper company. Hamburger Abendblatt from October 10, 2003.
  3. DWDL.de: Springer is still interested in ProSiebenSat.1. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  4. Axel Springer takes over majority in PIN Group AG. Retrieved June 12, 2019 .
  5. Press release Axel Springer AG resolves event break for 2009
  6. Ringier appoints Florian Fels to the group management ( memento of April 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), press release of Ringier AG, January 4, 2010.
  7. Ringier CEO Unger: “A sale is not planned” , Klein-Report, January 4, 2010.
  8. Media release from Axel Springer AG , March 23, 2010.
  9. Media release from Axel Springer AG , March 24, 2010.
  10. ^ Press release from Ringier AG and Axel-Springer-AG , March 23, 2010.
  11. Springer apparently wants to buy Ringier , Spiegel Online , September 19, 2002.
  12. Axel Springer buys Swiss TV guides from Ringier , media release by Axel Springer AG, June 21, 2007.
  13. Axel Springer may buy Russian G + J titles , Horizont.net, March 22, 2010.
  14. The publishers of Forbes (ru) have agreed to sell their media in Russia , rbc.ru, September 5, 2015.
  15. ITAR-TASS: Foreign participation in Russian mass media to be restricted to 20% in 2016 ( Memento from December 17, 2014 in the web archive archive.today ), September 23, 2014.
  16. Axel Springer new building in Berlin . ( Memento from November 10, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) baustelle.strabag.com Webcams Germany. Axel Springer new building in Berlin (accessed on March 13, 2018)
  17. ^ New Axel Springer building in Berlin . ulmaconstruction.de of November 30, 2017 (accessed on March 13, 2018)
  18. ^ "Unity and Law and Freedom": Laying of the foundation stone for the new Axel Springer building in Berlin . tagesspiegel.de from May 2, 2017 (accessed March 13, 2018)
  19. Axel Springer new building . dated May 2, 2017 (accessed March 13, 2018)
  20. real estate. Axel Springer new building sold . handelsblatt.com of July 17, 2017 (accessed March 13, 2018)
  21. Traditional handover of keys for the new Axel Springer building in Berlin. In: Axel Springer new building. Retrieved on April 6, 2020 (German).
  22. Equity value in Reuters KKR offers 40% premium to buy out Axel Springer minorities , June 12, 2019.
  23. Axel Springer concludes investor agreement with KKR to support its long-term growth strategy , ad-hoc release dated June 12, 2019.
  24. sueddeutsche.de: "World" on the test stand , June 10, 2019.
  25. Axel Springer: US investor KKR achieves participation of more than 40 percent - WELT. Retrieved August 28, 2019 .
  26. ^ Deutsche Börse Group - Extraordinary adjustment in MDAX. Retrieved August 28, 2019 .
  27. Stock market indices: Axel Springer leaves the MDax unscheduled. Retrieved September 3, 2019 .
  28. Delisting of Axel Springer SE shares from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange will take place at the end of April 6, 2020. April 1, 2020, accessed on April 6, 2020 (German).
  29. Springer sells his legacy in Süddeutsche Zeitung from July 25, 2013.
  30. Sale: Springer also parted with French titles in DWDL on July 27, 2013.
  31. Bundeskartellamt on newspaper sales: “Spark of the woman” can appear in the daily newspaper of December 3, 2013.
  32. ^ Cartel office approves Springer-Funke deal in Süddeutsche Zeitung on April 29, 2014.
  33. ^ Message from the FAZ from April 30, 2014 ( Memento from May 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  34. Axel Springer Verlag on the Internet and on the mobile phone ( Memento from March 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive ). On: Beyond-Print.
  35. Quoka press release ( Memento of October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). Quoka website. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  36. a b Shareholder structure at www.axelspringer.de (as of December 2017) ( Memento from June 12, 2018 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on April 17, 2018.
  37. Archived copy ( Memento of May 28, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on May 27, 2018)
  38. Archived copy ( Memento of May 28, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on May 27, 2018)
  39. Archived copy ( Memento of May 28, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on May 27, 2018)
  40. Archived copy ( Memento from June 11, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on May 27, 2018)
  41. Archived copy ( Memento of November 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on May 27, 2018)
  42. ^ Axel Springer: Ralph Büchi becomes Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Retrieved June 12, 2019 .
  43. Oliver Heine - Springer supervisory board is also year partner , mediatribune.de of October 13, 2010 (accessed on November 20, 2012)
  44. Wolfgang Reitzle's curriculum vitae ( memento from October 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), Axelspringer.de (accessed October 24, 2016)
  45. ^ CV Martin Varsavsky ( Memento from October 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), Axelspringer.de (accessed October 24, 2016)
  46. a b c d Archived copy ( Memento from May 28, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on May 27, 2018)
  47. https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/company-officers/SPRGn.DE (accessed on June 4, 2018)
  48. horizont.net
  49. https://www.presseportal.de/pm/6338/260949 (accessed on June 4, 2018)
  50. Profile William E. Ford (aka Bill Ford) , bloomberg.com (accessed October 24, 2016)
  51. ^ Curriculum vitae of Bill Ford ( Memento from October 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), axelspringer.de (accessed October 24, 2016)
  52. Annual Report 2003, Axel Springer, p. 13. ( Memento of May 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  53. Surprising announcement at the birthday reception: Professor Dr. Bernhard Servatius will leave the supervisory board ( memento of April 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), Axel Springer AG press release of May 3, 2002.
  54. ^ Michael Lewis resigns from the Supervisory Board , ASV press release of September 28, 2012.
  55. ^ Prince Reuss died , Hamburger Abendblatt of October 29, 1980.
  56. v.Brauchitsch zu Springer , Hamburger Abendblatt dated August 6, 1970.
  57. ^ Kracht retired , Hamburger Abendblatt, February 10, 1983.
  58. Steffen Naumann, kress.de/koepfe
  59. PUBLISHERS Double the return? DER SPIEGEL 3/1998
  60. Axel Springer Verlag - Döpfner makes the race , Spiegel from August 29, 2000.
  61. https://kress.de/koepfe/kresskoepfe-detail/profil/7241-rudolf-knepper.html (accessed on May 27, 2017)
  62. Jürgen Richter on the 70th Unbending, unadjusted, honest , sueddeutsche.de of October 17, 2011.
  63. Der SPIEGEL reported ... No. 45/1997 "Publishers - Wall of Silence"
  64. Günter Prinz 80 ( memento from October 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), bdzv.de from August 6, 2009.
  65. a b publishers, Thoroughly underestimated . DER SPIEGEL 34/1991
  66. Peter Tamm, whoswho.de
  67. ^ Press - Electric chair , DER SPIEGEL 46/1990
  68. ^ Willi Winkler: Anti-Springer Campaign 1968: The inner access Süddeutsche Zeitung , May 11, 2010.
  69. Heinz Grossmann, Oskar Negt (ed.): The resurrection of violence. Knight blockade u. political reaction in the Federal Republic. Frankfurt 1968, p. 30.
  70. Stefan Niggemeier: The public enemy who was not a "public enemy" . In: Bildblog . January 18, 2010.
  71. ^ SPD: Disgust and indignation ( Memento from January 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 990 kB). In: Berliner Morgenpost, 12./13. April 1968, p. 2 (continued from p. 1).
  72. Stones on the Springer House. Arson ( Memento from January 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 667 kB). In: Berliner Morgenpost . 12./13. April 1968, p. 1.
  73. For example William S. Schlamm: Dutschkismus… ( Memento of January 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 695 kB). In: Welt am Sonntag . October 29, 1967, p. 5.
  74. a b Finally! Quick courts against the ringleaders! ( Memento from August 31, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 686 kB). In: image. (Berlin), April 17, 1968, p. 1.
  75. Holger Dohmen: 'Springer and the 68ers' - a dialogue after 40 years. In: Hamburger Abendblatt . June 19, 2006.
  76. Press release: Axel Springer will change the spelling on August 1, 2006. (No longer available online.) In: axelspringer.de. June 28, 2006, archived from the original on September 27, 2007 ; Retrieved March 3, 2015 .
  77. ^ SF Kellerhoff: Contemporary history: Axel Springer, the Stasi and the ominous SS treasure . June 6, 2009 ( welt.de [accessed June 12, 2019]).