Media

Business Insider in talks for $560M sale to Axel Springer

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Published Sep. 22, 2015, 11:28 a.m. ET

Henry Blodget’s Business Insider is in talks to be acquired by German publisher Axel Springer for roughly $560 million, according to a report.

Axel Springer already owns a minority stake in the business news site after participating in a January fundraising round that raised $25 million, Recode reported on Tuesday.

Business Insider has raised $57 million since 2007 and was valued at around $200 million after the most recent fundraising round, according to Recode reporter Peter Kafka, who said he is also a shareholder in Business Insider.

Last week, German Manager Magazin reported that Axel Springer was interested in buying a controlling stake in Business Insider. Recode said the publisher wants to acquire the entire company and could close a deal “within weeks.”

Both Blodget and Axel Springer declined to comment to Recode.

Blodget, a former top Internet analyst for Merrill Lynch, founded Silicon Alley Insider after agreeing to a lifetime ban from the securities industry to settle a probe into conflict-ridden research reports. He is now editor and CEO of Business Insider.