Axel Springer Acquires Bisnow
German media conglomerate Axel Springer has acquired Bisnow, a prominent B2B media and events company focused on the commercial real estate industry. The deal, backed by private equity firm The Wicks Group, marks a significant consolidation in the real estate media landscape.
The Wicks Group's sale of Bisnow marks the conclusion of a significant chapter for the private equity firm, which originally acquired the commercial real estate media company in May 2016 for approximately $50 million. At that time, Bisnow operated in 28 markets with around 500,000 newsletter subscribers. Under private equity ownership, Bisnow expanded its scale considerably. Today, the company reaches an audience of over 11 million and hosts more than 350 events each year across 50 markets in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Ireland. Its estimated annual revenue is approximately $54.3 million. The acquisition continues a pattern of high-profile American media investments for Axel Springer. The German conglomerate previously acquired Business Insider in a 2015 deal that valued the company at $442 million and purchased Politico in 2021 for a price tag reported to be over $1 billion. Structurally, Bisnow will join another Axel Springer holding, the business newsletter Morning Brew, under a newly formed entity named Brew Media Group. Both Bisnow and Morning Brew will continue to operate as separate, independent companies within this new group, which will be led by Morning Brew Inc. CEO Robert Dippell. This move follows a major corporate reorganization at Axel Springer. In September 2024, the company announced a deal with private equity partner KKR to spin off its media assets—including Politico and Business Insider—from its more profitable digital classifieds business, aiming to create a privately-owned, digital-first media powerhouse.
