German communications concern Axel Springer today denied yesterday's report by Channel 2 News reporter Guy Peleg that it had previously expressed interest in acquiring the "Yediot Ahronot" daily newspaper, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu serving as a broker for the sale. "Axel Springer never considered buying "Yediot Ahronot," and there were never any negotiations," Axel Springer company spokesperson Bianca-Maria Dardon told "Globes."
Peleg reported yesterday that according to information from the Israel Police, "Netanyahu spoke with Axel Springer CEO Mathias Dopfner, and told him that it was important for him to buy 'Yediot Ahronot'." Asked by "Globes" to comment on this, Dardon responded that Dopfner and Netanyahu "had been in contact on various occasions in recent years, and this fact was no surprise since our company and Israel have had strong ties for decades." The company called the content of the conversations between the two men "confidential."
Peleg reported yesterday that according to police information, Netanyahu had also been involved in attempts to bring Australian billionaire James Packer and US billionaire and high-tech company Oracle founder and CEO Larry Ellison into "Yedioth Ahronoth."
"yad2 acquisition - without politicians"
Axel Springer is one of the largest media companies and publishers in Europe. The company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange at a €5 billion market cap, and its revenue totaled €3.3 billion in 2015. In Germany, Axel Springer owns the popular "Bild" tabloid and the well-respected "Die Welt" daily newspapers, among other holdings. In accordance with Axel Springer's policy, both newspapers are regarded as strongly pro-Israel.
In the local market, Axel Springer made headlines in 2014 by acquiring the yad2 online bulletin board website from Walla! for NIS 800 million. Walla! acquired the website only four years earlier at a value of NIS 150 million, so it earned a huge sum from this exit.
The HaAyin HaShevi'it (Seventh Eye) website yesterday stated that following the revelation that Netanyahu was involved in an attempt to bring Axel Springer to acquire "Yediot Ahronot," the possibility that he was also involved in the huge acquisition of yad 2 should also be considered, given the close relations between Netanyahu and Walla! owner Shaul Elovitch and reports that the website was giving sympathetic coverage to Netanyahu and his family in certain cases and aspects.
"Although you did not ask we would like to make clear that preparing the purchase of the online classifieds portal Yad2 in 2014, we were only negotiating with the sellers not with politicians," the German corporation told "Globes" today.
In a July 2015 "Globes" interview, Walla! CEO Ilan Yeshua commented on allegations that Axel Springer had paid an excessive amount for yad2, saying they "show an absolute lack of understanding. Had Axel Springer not made the acquisition, there were three buyers in line that would have bought it at more or less the same price. Axel Springer has acquired 100 companies worldwide in this segment, and entities like yad2 are traded and sold at multiples similar to the one at which we sold."
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on January 16, 2017
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