German Billionaire And KKR Cut Deal To Split Axel Springer

German billionaire Mathias Doepfner and KKR reached a fundamental agreement this summer to split up the media giant Axel Springer, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, as reported by Klaus Lauer.

The deal would grant KKR majority control of the company’s profitable classifieds business. I Photo: Fred Romero Flickr

Both parties are expected to discuss the proposed structure of a deal at an upcoming supervisory board meeting next week. The deal would grant KKR majority control of the company’s profitable classifieds business.

The Financial Times reported that the deal values the entire company at 13.5 billion euros ($14.95 billion), with more than 10 billion euros attributed to the classifieds business.

According to the source, the valuation is not yet final but could be close to these figures. Signing the deal may still take several months, but an official announcement might be made as early as next week, according to additional reporting by Maria Martinez for Reuters.