Döpfner's link
Comment by René Worni on print media at a bargain price.
Commentary by René Worni on print media at a bargain price: The former editor-in-chief of the Springer newspaper Welt, Roger Köppel, who has been back in the country for almost two months now and is back in office as editor-in-chief of Weltwoche, where he also has an entrepreneurial stake of 60 percent, has, as we read in the WOZ, received his majority stake in the newly founded Weltwoche-Verlags AG for the ridiculous price of a measly 1.2 million francs. Jean Frey AG, for its part, is contributing its flagship to the new AG for 2 million francs and will retain a 40 percent stake in it for 800,000 francs. So Köppel, the majority owner of editor-in-chief, has come to Weltwoche on impressively favorable terms or on "very favorable terms" (Leutenegger). Köppel is a real lucky man - or is he? He is also continuing the tradition of a dying breed of publishing personalities who are both journalists and entrepreneurs.
How is that possible? Köppel is often portrayed as the foster son of Jean Frey's one-third owner Tito Tettamanti. It would be naïve to assume that he gave the newly minted young publisher a gift and thus helped him to acquire a majority stake in Weltwoche-Verlags AG. A simple fact helped. The publishing rights to the Weltwoche title, worth up to 10 million francs according to WOZ, do not appear in the shareholders' agreements. They are detached from the rest as an intangible asset and - it can be assumed - remain with Jean Frey.
With these conditions, the deal could go through at a low level, and everyone is served: the neo-conservative circles, who wanted Köppel to be the only conceivable figure in the head chair of Weltwoche, and also the Jean Frey publishing house, whose company results were dragging down the ever-slumping Weltwoche. So even if he wanted to, Köppel would not be able to sell Weltwoche on his own. However, should Axel Springer Verlag actually be interested in Weltwoche, Springer CEO Matthias Döpfner at least has a well-established guarantor through his former subordinate in Zurich.
René Worni, Editor
How is that possible? Köppel is often portrayed as the foster son of Jean Frey's one-third owner Tito Tettamanti. It would be naïve to assume that he gave the newly minted young publisher a gift and thus helped him to acquire a majority stake in Weltwoche-Verlags AG. A simple fact helped. The publishing rights to the Weltwoche title, worth up to 10 million francs according to WOZ, do not appear in the shareholders' agreements. They are detached from the rest as an intangible asset and - it can be assumed - remain with Jean Frey.
With these conditions, the deal could go through at a low level, and everyone is served: the neo-conservative circles, who wanted Köppel to be the only conceivable figure in the head chair of Weltwoche, and also the Jean Frey publishing house, whose company results were dragging down the ever-slumping Weltwoche. So even if he wanted to, Köppel would not be able to sell Weltwoche on his own. However, should Axel Springer Verlag actually be interested in Weltwoche, Springer CEO Matthias Döpfner at least has a well-established guarantor through his former subordinate in Zurich.
René Worni, Editor
