Axel Springer Strikes Deal With KKR to Split Up Publishing Giant

Axel Springer, the owner of Politico, Business Insider and a portfolio of German newspapers, has struck a deal that will anoint its chief executive, Mathias Dopfner, as the undisputed magnate of a transcontinental media empire.

The deal announced Thursday will split Axel Springer into two separate organizations. Mr. Dopfner and Friede Springer, the widow of the company’s founder, will assume full control of the media properties. And Axel Springer’s biggest outside investors, the private equity firm KKR and CPP Investments, will take control of the company’s lucrative classified advertising business.

The move will cement Mr. Dopfner and Ms. Springer’s unilateral oversight of the company’s publishing business, giving them additional latitude to expand their media holdings.

The deal values all of Axel Springer at roughly $15 billion, with the company’s publishing assets worth about $4 billion, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential financial information.

“Before we began our partnership with KKR five years ago, Friede Springer and I had an idea of how the company could ideally look like down the road,” Mr. Dopfner said in a statement. “That vision is now close to becoming reality.”

Henry Kravis, the co-founder of KKR, said in a statement that the deal was a “natural next step” for Axel Springer and “a great outcome for all stakeholders involved.”