All posts tagged: Axel Springer

Axel Springer promises ‘AI-powered transformation’ as it completes Telegraph deal

Axel Springer promises ‘AI-powered transformation’ as it completes Telegraph deal

Published by Sam Flores

Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner. Picture: Robert Downs/INMA Axel Springer’s acquisition of The Telegraph will complete today (Tuesday 30 June), ending “three difficult years” without an owner for the UK national newspaper. The £575m deal was announced in March and has now received all the required regulatory approvals in the UK, Ireland and Austria. Axel Springer pledged to “further strengthen” The Telegraph’s commercial and subscription businesses and expand its events and premium offerings. It added that it would preserve The Telegraph’s “editorial independence and integrity” and British identity. Telegraph editor-in-chief Chris Evans said: “These are exciting times for The Telegraph. Axel Springer and we have much in common. We share the same values. We also share the same vision and the same ambition. “We believe there are many opportunities to grow The Telegraph, both in the UK and overseas. After three difficult years without owners, we look forward to stoking up the engines and setting forth on a new voyage.” Evans led a newsroom revolt earlier in the sales process when The Telegraph look set …

Axel Springer given UK govt approval for Telegraph takeover

Axel Springer given UK govt approval for Telegraph takeover

Published by Sam Flores

Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner. Picture: Robert Downs/INMA Axel Springer’s planned £575m takeover of Telegraph Media Group has been approved by the UK Government. It is still awaiting regulatory approval in Ireland and Austria (due to there being a lower threshold for competition concerns in those countries although there is no expectation of any impact there). The publisher said it expects the deal to completed by the end of June. Axel Springer chief executive Mathias Döpfner said: “We are pleased to have received UK government approval to proceed with this acquisition. “After a long period of uncertainty, we can confirm that we will invest significantly in The Telegraph’s editorial excellence and international growth.” Axel Springer added that The Telegraph will keep “its distinct editorial voice and British identity”. Axel Springer owns Politico and Business Insider, which both have journalists in the UK, as well as German newspapers Bild and Die Welt. The Telegraph reported that the news was “greeted with relief” in its newsroom after almost three years of being in ownership limbo or, as …

Axel Springer ousts DMGT with deal to buy Telegraph for £575m

Axel Springer ousts DMGT with deal to buy Telegraph for £575m

Published by Sam Flores

Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner. Picture: Robert Downs/INMA German newspaper group Axel Springer has agreed a deal to buy The Telegraph for £575m in cash. The deal trumps a previous agreement signed in November between current owner Redbird IMI and Daily Mail owner DMGT, which had planned to pay £400m upfront and a further £100 within two years. Axel Springer chief executive Mathias Döpfner said The Telegraph has “massive growth potential” and he wants to “help it become the most read and intellectually inspiring center-right media outlet in the English-speaking world”, promising investment. Scroll down for Döpfner’s full statement Axel Springer initially expressed an interest in taking part in the auction for The Telegraph in 2023. More recently it was reportedly involved in the preparations for a bid by New York Sun publisher Dovid Efune but has agreed the new deal without his involvement. It thanked Efune “for his essential support and assistance” in a statement. Axel Springer owns Politico, Business Insider and Axios as well as German newspapers Bild and Die Welt. The Telegraph …

Who’s suing AI and who’s signing: Danish publishers take OpenAI to court

Who’s suing AI and who’s signing: Danish publishers take OpenAI to court

Published by Sam Flores

A lawsuit has been launched against OpenAI in Denmark on behalf of news publishers whose work was believed to have been used to train ChatGPT. The Chicago Tribune and New York Times sued Perplexity at the end of 2025, while multiple publishers have signed AI licensing deals with Meta. Meanwhile Getty Images failed to secure an AI copyright precedent in the UK after suing Stability AI. And The Hollywood Reporter and Variety publisher Penske Media has become the first news publisher to sue Google over the impact of its AI Overviews in search results on traffic and revenue. A small number of news publishers have followed in the footsteps of The New York Times to sue OpenAI and other AI companies over the unauthorised use of their content – now including nine more US regionals owned by Alden Global Capital subsidiary Media News Group, as well as US News & World Report. However many more now have signed deals with the AI companies which commonly include the use of their content as reference points for …