Leading Digital Publisher Axel Springer Acquires Business Insider

Deal Expands Axel Springer’s Worldwide Digital Audience to Nearly 200
Million Users and Furthers Commitment to Innovative Digital
Journalism

Ranks Axel Springer among the World’s Six Largest Digital Publishers
in Terms of Reach

Henry Blodget and Julie Hansen Will Continue to Lead Pioneering
Business News Portal and Remain Significantly Invested through an
Extensive, Long-term Equity Incentive

BERLIN & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Axel
Springer SE, the leading digital publisher in Europe, today
announced a binding agreement to purchase approximately 88 percent of
the shares in New York City-based Business
Insider, the leading digital offering for business news in the U.S.
This acquisition is a vital part of Axel Springer’s strategy to broaden
its global reach, diversify its English-language offerings and expand
its commitment to innovative digital journalism.

The addition of Business Insider’s 76 million unique monthly visitors
will increase Axel Springer’s worldwide digital audience by two-thirds
to approximately 200 million users, making the company one of the
world’s six largest digital publishers in terms of reach.

The purchase price based on 100 percent of Business Insider amounts to
USD 442 million (currently approximately EUR 395 million) on the basis
of a cash and debt free valuation of USD 390 million (currently
approximately EUR 348 million). The valuation corresponds to an amount
of USD 343 million (currently approximately EUR 306 million) for the 88
percent of the shares that Axel Springer is acquiring. Axel Springer
already holds a stake of approximately nine percent in the company and,
after this purchase, will hold a stake of approximately 97 percent.
Bezos Expeditions, the personal investment company of Jeff Bezos, will
hold the further shares.

Henry
Blodget, Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Editor-in-Chief, and Julie
Hansen, Chief Operating Officer and President, will continue to lead
Business Insider in their respective roles. They will also remain
significantly invested in Business Insider through an extensive,
long-term equity incentive. Kenneth
Lerer, Managing Partner at leading early-stage technology venture
capital firm Lerer
Hippeau Ventures, Co-Founder of Huffington
Post and Chairman of Buzzfeed,
will receive a seat on the Board of Business Insider.

Mathias
Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer SE: “With the acquisition of Business
Insider, we continue with our strategy to expand Axel Springer’s digital
reach and, as previously announced, invest in digital journalism
companies in English-speaking regions of the world. Business Insider has
set new standards in digital business journalism globally. Henry
Blodget’s way of digital storytelling reaches tomorrow’s
decision-makers. Combining our forces will allow us to unlock growth
potential and expand Business Insider’s portfolio to new verticals, new
locations and new digital content. We look forward to working together
with Henry Blodget, Julie Hansen and the exceptional Business Insider
team to continue shaping the future. At the same time, I am thrilled to
have our close partner Ken Lerer joining us.”

Henry Blodget, Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Editor-in-Chief of
Business Insider: “We have tremendous respect for Axel Springer’s
commitment to independent journalism and its global vision for the
future. It is a pleasure and privilege to join forces with such a smart,
forward-thinking team. We look forward to working together to build a
major global news organization for the digital century.”

With its purely digital business model and focus on millennials, the
sought-after target audience of 18 to 34-year-olds, Business Insider is
a pioneer among business news portals. It has built a reputation on
critical and exclusive reporting that aligns well with how news is
consumed on social and mobile channels. Business Insider also offers a
paid subscription-based research and information service, known as BI
Intelligence.

Business Insider was launched in 2007 by Henry Blodget, Kevin Ryan and
Dwight Merriman. It employs more than 325 people, approximately 50
percent of whom are journalists. In addition to its U.S. news sites, the
company has a growing international presence, with local editions or
licenses in seven other countries. A German edition will be introduced
in the fourth quarter of this year and will be operated by finanzen.net,
a company of Axel Springer SE. Editions for other countries are in
development.

Axel Springer will finance this acquisition using existing credit lines.

The transaction is subject to approval by relevant antitrust authorities.

Note to editors:

Axel Springer invites the media to an international conference
call at 09:00 am ET / 3:00 pm CET. Speakers will include Dr. Mathias
Döpfner and Dr. Julian Deutz of Axel Springer SE as well as Henry
Blodget of Business Insider. The conference call will be held in English.

Interested persons are kindly asked to dial in ten minutes prior to the
start of the telephone conference at one of the numbers listed below. A
pin code is not required.

Germany: +49 (0)69 566 036 114

U.K.: +44 (0)161 250 8212

U.S.: +1 (1)347 549 4091

About Axel Springer

Axel
Springer is the leading digital publisher in Europe and a pioneer in
paid subscription offerings. With headquarters in Berlin, the company is
active in more than 40 countries with subsidiaries, joint ventures and
licenses. Axel Springer SE is divided into three operating segments:
Paid Models, Marketing Models and Classified Ad Models. In 2014, it
achieved an EBITDA of EUR 507.1 million. More than half of Group
revenues were generated by digital activities, which amounted to more
than 70 percent of Group EBITDA. The company employs nearly 15,000
people worldwide.

Axel Springer increasingly wants to grow with digital journalistic
offerings in English-language geographies. Over the last several years,
the company has gradually built up a diverse portfolio of U.S.
investments and has maintained an office in Silicon Valley since 2014.

Since March 2014, Axel Springer has been the biggest investor in
OZY.com, an online magazine for news and culture. Since February 2015,
the digital publisher Livingly Media has been fully owned by
aufeminin.com, the world’s leading women’s portal, in which Axel
Springer holds a majority interest. Axel Springer is also invested in
digital investment funds Lerer Hippeau Ventures and SV Angel since June
2014. Axel Springer also has a majority holding in the shopping platform
Retale, which has been active in the U.S. market since 2013 through the
Bonial.com Group. Moreover, Axel Springer holds stakes in the news
platform Mic.com (since June 2015), the virtual-reality startup Jaunt
(since September 2015), the social-video-news media company NowThis
Media (since December 2014) and the media start-up A Plus (since March
2015). Axel Springer also holds minority interests in the community
accommodations marketplace Airbnb (since February 2012), in the photo
community Pixlee (since February 2013) and the save-for-later App Pocket
(since April 2015). Since April 2015, the company, together with
POLITICO U.S., has been responsible for the European edition of POLITICO
in Brussels.

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Contacts

Axel Springer SE
Press:
Edda Fels, +49 30
2591 77600
edda.fels@axelspringer.de
or
Bianca-Maria
Dardon, +49 30 2591 77641
bianca.dardon@axelspringer.de