Axel Springer, a Germany-based multinational mass and online media group, has agreed to buy the Telegraph Media Group (TMG) in a deal reached for £575m.
Reports noted that Axel Springer, the owner of Europe’s biggest newspaper, Bild, and the daily Die Welt, agreed to pay the amount in cash to purchase TMG, which owns the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph, the Telegraph Magazine, and the website and app.
Axel Springer chief executive Mathias Dopfner said he wanted to “preserve the distinctive character and legacy” of the Telegraph.
Döpfner, who has been very vocal about his desire to acquire Telegraph, confirmed the deal in a statement on Friday, saying the company had tried to buy it for more than two decades.
“More than 20 years ago, we tried to acquire the Telegraph and did not succeed,” Mr Döpfner said. “Now our dream comes true. To be the owner of this institution of quality British journalism is a privilege and a duty.”
He added, “The Telegraph stands for freedom, personal responsibility, democratic values, and a belief in open societies and market economies. These convictions closely align with our Axel Springer essential values,” Döpfner said. He stressed that editorial independence was “sacrosanct.”
Once the deal is completed, Telegraph will become Axel Springer’s largest acquisition following the roughly £750 million paid to buy Politico in 2021.
