In the cutthroat arena of global media mergers, few names evoke the blend of ambition and audacity quite like Mathias Döpfner, the silver-haired CEO and co-owner of Axel Springer SE. The 62-year-old German billionaire, a board member at Netflix and a self-proclaimed Elon Musk confidant, has long harbored designs on American journalism’s crown jewels. In a candid Financial Times interview this week, Döpfner openly acknowledged his interest in acquiring The Wall Street Journal from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp empire—a tantalizing prospect that could catapult Axel Springer into the elite echelon of U.S. media powerhouses, even as he navigates a high-stakes corporate breakup and a frosty family feud at News Corp.
Döpfner’s flirtation with the Journal comes at a pivotal juncture. He’s on the cusp of sealing a €13.5 billion ($14.2 billion) divorce from private equity giant KKR & Co., which will hand him and the widow of Axel Springer’s founder, Friede Springer, a commanding 98% stake in the company’s vaunted media portfolio. The deal, expected to finalize in early 2026, severs the classifieds arm—home to sites like StepStone and Aviv—leaving Döpfner with unencumbered control over tabloid juggernauts like Bild and Die Welt, alongside U.S. darlings Business Insider (acquired for $343 million in 2015) and Politico (snapped up for $1 billion in 2021). “This split gives us new freedom and opportunity,” Döpfner told the FT, though he candidly admitted the “higher risk” of ditching KKR’s financial ballast. To offset that, he’s slashing costs at his German titles amid a print ad slump, while doubling down on transatlantic growth.
The Wall Street Journal, with its 3.8 million subscribers and a digital paywall that’s become a Wall Street must-read, represents the ultimate prize. Valued at $5.6 billion when Murdoch scooped it up in 2007, the paper’s worth has likely swelled to $8-10 billion today, fueled by a 15% revenue bump to $1.2 billion in fiscal 2025, per News Corp filings. For Döpfner, who unsuccessfully bid for the Financial Times a decade ago, it would crown his U.S. foray: Axel Springer’s American revenue has tripled to €800 million since the Politico buy, driven by premium subscriptions and event tie-ins like the Semafor World Economy Summit. Yet, caveats abound. Döpfner stressed the Journal “doesn’t appear to be up for sale,” pegging his odds at “close to zero.” Insiders at News Corp, however, whisper of opportunity amid the octogenarian Murdoch’s acrimonious succession battle. With eldest son Lachlan at the helm but siblings James and Elisabeth chafing at the conservative tilt, a sale could sidestep inheritance woes—especially if it nets billions to fund pet projects or buy peace.
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Financing the deal? That’s the rub. Axel Springer’s media unit was pegged at €3.5 billion in the KKR split, leaving scant dry powder for a blockbuster bid without debt or equity partners. Döpfner, ever the networker, has wooed U.S. tech titans—Musk dined at his Mar-a-Lago wedding last year—and sits on Netflix’s board, but skeptics question his firepower. “He’s a charmer with connections from Berlin to Silicon Valley, but €10 billion? That’s Musk money, not Springer scale,” quipped one media banker at a London drinks bash. Still, underestimation is folly: Döpfner’s track record includes outmaneuvering rivals for Politico during a bidding war and pivoting Bild to a profitable digital fortress despite Germany’s ad woes.
Mounting Woes at Wood Group: CFO Exit Amid Takeover Ghosts and Cash Crunch
As Döpfner’s empire eyes blue-sky expansion, across the Channel, Scotland’s Wood Group PLC is mired in a cautionary tale of M&A mishaps and executive missteps. The FTSE 250 engineering firm, a North Sea oil survivor turned renewables hopeful, saw its shares crater another 8% to 45p on Wednesday—valuing it at a mere £170 million—after chief financial officer Arvind Balan abruptly resigned, admitting to “misstating” his professional qualifications. The board, tipped off by an FT inquiry, accepted his immediate departure, leaving CEO Ken Gilmartin to steady a ship already listing from two botched buyouts and a grim cash outlook.
Balan’s exit, just weeks after Wood’s bombshell November warning of up to $200 million in negative free cash flow for 2025 (flipping prior positivity), piles fresh ignominy on a company once hailed as Britain’s engineering export success. Apollo Global Management ditched a £2.2 billion ($2.9 billion) takeover in 2023 over valuation spats, followed by Dubai’s Sidara bailing on a £1.7 billion pact last year—each time sending shares into freefall. Now, with a market cap slashed 70% from 2024 highs, takeover whispers abound anew: Analysts at Peel Hunt speculate a third suitor could emerge at 150-200p a share, lured by Wood’s 40,000-strong workforce and contracts in LNG and hydrogen. “To lose one bid is misfortune; two, carelessness; three? Opportunity,” one investor quipped, channeling Oscar Wilde.
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Yet, the rot runs deeper. Wood’s pivot from fossil fuels—amid a 20% drop in oilfield services demand—has faltered, with Q3 revenue flat at $1.8 billion and debt ticking up to $1.2 billion. Balan’s fibs, reportedly inflating his CFA credentials, erode trust at a firm already under UK Listing Rules scrutiny. Investors, nursing 40% losses since Sidara’s snub, demand clarity: Will the board launch an qualifications audit? And could this nadir finally seal a deal, perhaps with a U.S. PE player eyeing Europe’s green transition?
In broader dealmaking ripples, Howard Lutnick’s ascension to U.S. Commerce Secretary has reshuffled Cantor Fitzgerald, with sons Brandon (a DJ) and Kyle named chair and vice-chair, respectively—nepotism headlines be damned. Meanwhile, AlbaCore Capital elevated Davide Chiesa to partner, and Weil Gotshal tapped Michael Aiello for a new leadership committee ahead of Barry Wolf’s 2027 retirement.
As media titans like Döpfner chase legacies and industrials like Wood grapple with survival, 2026 looms as a year of bold bets—and brutal reckonings—in tech-infused dealmaking.
