Axel Springer Recommends Shareholders Accept KKR Buyout Offer

(Bloomberg) -- Axel Springer SE’s supervisory and executive boards recommended that minority shareholders accept a buyout offer from KKR & Co., saying it would ensure the German publisher’s future growth.

The private equity firm’s cash offer of 63 euros a share is fair because it represents a 40% premium over the company’s share price in May, before the talks with KKR became public, Axel Springer said in a statement Thursday.

“Over the coming years we will significantly invest in people, products, brands and technology,” Chief Financial Officer Julian Deutz said. “With KKR as a financial and strategic partner we will be able to pursue these initiatives with a long-term focus on growth and profitability.”

The proposed buyout of minority investors would see Axel Springer join Bertelsmann SE, the German publisher that owns Penguin Random House, in being shielded from the scrutiny of public markets. Having KKR on board could also make it easier for the company to fund acquisitions and capitalize on turmoil and retrenchment in the digital media industry.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stefan Nicola in Berlin at snicola2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rebecca Penty at rpenty@bloomberg.net, Eric Pfanner

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