Axel Springer Acquires Bisnow
German media giant Axel Springer has acquired Bisnow, a leading commercial real estate media and events company. The deal, backed by private equity firm The Wicks Group, marks a significant consolidation in the B2B media landscape.
This acquisition places Bisnow within a newly formed "Brew Media Group" alongside Morning Brew, another of Axel Springer's U.S. media assets. The new group will be headed by Robert Dippell, the current CEO of Morning Brew, who previously served as Bisnow's Chief Revenue Officer and Executive Advisor. Bisnow's current CEO, Gregg Mayer, and the rest of the executive team will remain in their roles, ensuring leadership continuity. Both Bisnow and Morning Brew will operate as separate, independent companies under the Brew Media Group umbrella, which plans to actively pursue further acquisitions in the U.S. market. The deal marks an exit for private equity firm The Wicks Group, which acquired Bisnow in May 2016 for an estimated $50 million. At that time, Bisnow was operating in 30 cities with 650,000 subscribers and hosting 300 events annually. Founded in 2005, Bisnow has grown into a major B2B platform in the commercial real estate sector, now hosting over 400 events each year across 47 markets in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Ireland. This move is part of Axel Springer's broader strategy to expand its digital reach and invest in English-speaking media markets, particularly in the U.S. The German media giant's other significant American acquisitions include Politico for over $1 billion and Business Insider in a deal valuing the company at $442 million. The acquisition comes after a major corporate restructuring at Axel Springer. The company recently separated its media assets from its classifieds business in a €13.5 billion deal with private equity firm KKR. This has positioned the now debt-free, family-owned media division to focus on the growth of its digital journalism brands.
