The question of what the US holding company
KKR
is planning
to do
with the
Axel Springer Group has been
around for a long time
.
After all, the investor holds more than 35 percent of the shares.
My colleagues Angela Maier and Mark Böschen had a long, exciting conversation with the two KKR partners
Philipp Freise
and
Henry McVey
.
About digitization in the media market, the lack of synergies between the publishing divisions and the brainwave about separate IPOs.
The interview was particularly explosive because Springer parted ways with "Bild" editor-in-chief
Julian Reichelt
on Monday
. KKR didn't want to answer any of our additional questions about the situation - that too can be a message. And so it is above all the commitment to
Mathias Döpfner
that stands out from the interview. After all, the boss and co-owner of the Springer Group has come under fire in the course of the Reichelt affair. "We trust Mathias completely," says KKR manager Freise, who is also Springer's supervisory board. Döpfner has created a fantastic success story. "We support his vision."
The interview is also otherwise worth reading, because the two investors also talk about their aggressive growth plans for Europe: What KKR is planning to do with the "Bild" publishing house - "Springer is a jewel"
The economic news of the day:
Kağan Sümer
, head of the grocery delivery start-up
Gorillas
, was looking for fresh money for
months
- now he has found it: Investors are investing almost one billion US dollars in the high-deficit company.
Among the donors - as we already revealed a few months ago: Dax company
Delivery Hero
- who also
operates
a direct Gorillas competitor
with
Foodpanda
.
Deal among TV colleagues: Former ProSieben boss
Georg Kofler
buys the
DS Group
,
Ralf Dümmel's
brand
empire
, at a comparatively low price.
The faces of the two men should be familiar to many - both are jurors and investors in the founding show "Den of the Lions" on the TV channel "Vox".
In
the diesel exhaust scandal, the
car manufacturer
Opel
avoided a large-scale process à la Volkswagen - but had to pay a considerable fine.
The company has to shell out just under 65 million euros - in return, however, the investigative proceedings against six Opel managers are also suspended.
What else was important today:
Today we are also introducing you to a transformer of the economy:
Anne Fischer
networks
tracks, signaling systems and locomotives
at
Siemens
, is driving digitalization in the area of train infrastructure, and all of this with the overriding goal of combating climate change.
Here you will get to know her, the robot train master.
Drink beer and save the rainforest, save flies and CO₂, buy coffee and help farmers: Companies are increasingly trying to lure customers into buying products with supposedly good deeds.
Marketing expert
Florian Stahl
explains in an interview what customers should look out for with such offers.
A financial investor who provides information about his drug use - if that's not an honest podcast.
It also means: Team A - the honest leadership podcast.
In the new episode, billionaire
Christian Angermeyer
explains why he not only invests in psychedelics, but also consumes "magic mushrooms" himself: "I believe that psychedelics make you a better entrepreneur and investor."
My recommendation for the evening:
Power enables people to fundamentally change things, be it to make life better or even just to increase the economic success of companies.
But power also has an impact on those who wield it - and that's where it gets dangerous.
Authors
Julie Battilana
from Harvard Business School and
Tiziana Casciaro
write that only those who avoid overconfidence and selfishness can use their influence for the good of the community
from the University of Toronto in the cover story of the new Harvard Business Manager.
The means to do this are humility and empathy.
Executives who manage this balancing act can lead their teams to exceptional performance, according to the authors.
But how can this be done?
Find out here.
Best regards, yours Christoph Rottwilm