Axel Springer now owns Bild Online outright
The Axel Springer publishing group has received the green light from the German Federal Cartel Office to complete its acquisition of Bild Online. Last year, the media group increased the portal's advertising revenue by 40 percent.
The publishing house Axel Springer has been given the green light by the German Cartel Office for the complete takeover of the internet portal Bild Online. The media group announced in December that it intends to buy the 37 percent stake previously held by Deutsche Telekom. Following the takeover, the online presence of Germany's largest newspaper will also be given a new name: The previous name Bild.t-online.de will disappear and the portal will simply be called Bild.de. In addition, the Internet offering is to be expanded. The first steps in this direction have already been taken: A video offering was added in November, followed by a relaunch in December. According to Springer, online advertising revenues rose by more than 40 percent in 2007 following a realignment of marketing.
