German publisher Axel Springer acquires Politico
26 August 2021
German publishing giant Axel Springer has acquired Politico, according to a news release out Thursday.
Why it matters: The deal is valued at about $1 billion, per CNN, making it one of the most expensive media merger deals of late. Axel Springer also acquired the remaining 50% of the two companies' joint venture, Politico Europe, and the tech news website Protocol from publisher Robert Allbritton.
What they're saying: “POLITICO’s outstanding team has disrupted digital political journalism and set new standards. A true North Star. It will be a privilege and a special responsibility to help shape the future of this outstanding media company," Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner stated in the release.
Our thought bubble, from Axios' Dan Primack: Axel Springer, backed by private equity giant KKR, will be the first outside owner for Politico which, unlike many of its VC-backed peers, has always been owned and controlled by billionaire Robert Allbritton. The announcement also comes on the same morning as Forbes agreed to be acquired by a SPAC.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.