At a Glance

Contents

LEADING

Striking New Paths 04

The three Segments of the Company 07

Increasingly Digital 08

Increasingly International 10

Many Opportunities for Future United Artists 12

There’s More To It 14

Corporate Values and Leadership Principles 15

DIGITAL

Building Blocks of Digitization 16

Multimedial Media Brands 18

Digital Development Laboratory 20

Silicon Valley and More 21

PUBLISHER

House of Journalism 22

“What we are and what we want” 23

Essentially Free 24

MEDIA AND BRANDS

Diversity of Offerings 26

ClassifiedsMedia 28 News Media 32

Marketing Media 34

FACTS AND FIGURES 36

Status: March 2018

Axel Springer SE, Corporate Communications, 10888 Berlin

Tel: +49 30 2591-77600, information@axelspringer.de

www.axelspringer.com

www.twitter.com/axelspringer_en

www.youtube.com/axelspringer

www.instagram.com/axelspringer_se

www.facebook.com/AxelSpringerKarriere

The soul and spirit of the company Axel Springer is journalism.

OUR MISSION: The successful establishment of independent journalism in the digital world.

We are Europe’s leading digital publisher.

0504

In the tradition of its founder, who

fostered journalistic and technological

innovations in his time, Axel Springer SE

is breaking new ground while remaining

true to itself. The company is with great

pace pursuing the objective of building

up a fast-growing and profitable digital

portfolio and to establish journalism as

a successful business model also in the

digital world. Along with the transfor-

mation of its established strong media

brands, its own new developments and

strategically-oriented acquisitions of

web companies, the networking with

the current generation of digital founders

is one of the building blocks of the

company’s digitization strategy.

About 16,000 employees work with

passion at Axel Springer SE: Eu-

rope’s leading digital publisher.

LEADING DIGITAL PUBLISHEREnhancement. Growth. At the same time not losing the own roots.

Striking New Paths

0706

Axel Springer SE is shaping its transformation into

a digital publishing house with all its strength.

The strategy focuses on what the company has

made successful ever since. Models which are,

with varying intensity, based on journalism or bene-

fit from journalism: Classifieds Media, News Media,

and Marketing Media.

The traditional revenues of a publishing house are

reflected in this structure. In the same way as a

newspaper in the past was financed by subscrib-

ers, advertisers and classified advertising custom-

ers. It is the goal of Axel Springer SE to become

the number one in the respective market segments

and in the countries in which the company is active

– as leading digital publisher.

123

The Three Segments of the CompanyStrategy

ClassifiedsMedia,whoserevenues are primarily generated

throughpayingclassifiedadclients.

News Media, that are predominantly

funded by paying readers and adver-

tising.

Marketing Media, whose

revenues are primarily generated

by reach-based or performance-

based advertising clients.

0908

Axel Springer is pursuing a strategy of profitable

growth. The goal is to create value – both

material and ethical. And thereby also to increase

the company’s value.

The company pushes forcefully ahead with its

transformation to become the world’s leading

digital publisher. The group invests in the develop-

ment of paid content on the Internet and expands

its portfolio of online services through complemen-

tary acquisitions.

More information is available at

axelspringer.com/keyfigures

Share of DIGITAL MEDIA in percent

Average number 2016 2017 Change

Group 15,223 15,836 +3.3%

Employees

OF TOTAL GROUP REVENUES

80OF ADVERTISING REVENUES

87

OF ADJ. EBITDA

72

Source: Annual Report 2017

Increasingly Digital

Share of Segment Revenues

in percent

News Media

Classifieds Media

Marketing Media

Services/Holding

42

28

28

2

1110

Axel Springer is active in more than 40 countries

worldwide, with holdings and licenses on six

continents.

With the Swiss Ringier AG, Axel Springer operates

too Joint Ventures: in Switzerland and in Eastern

Europe (Poland, Serbia, Hungary and Slovakia).

Digitization is moreover increasingly breaking down

the conventional view of national boundaries. Over

the last few years for example, Bonial (see p.34)

has successfully established the German kaufDA

concept in ten other countries. The StepStone

Group (see p.36), operates job portals in 16

countries.

The US online business news portal BUSINESS

INSIDER offers 16 further regional editions, the

latest in Spain and South Africa.

2017, Axel Springer SE generated a total of 49

percent of its revenues outside Germany with

these and other activities

More information is available at

axelspringer.com/intl and

ringieraxelspringer.com

Increasingly International

1312

Many Opportunities for Future United Artists

Axel Springer is a company, in which individual-

ists feel at ease, because they have the freedom

to make their own decisions and to shape things

independently. A kind of „United Artists“. Artists –

irrespective of whether they are reporters or soft-

ware developers – are independent, different and

sometimes complicated. They may and should be

like this, as long as they are excellent and, when it

matters, hold together – United.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

DIRECT ENTRY

For employees who want to develop their ideas.

Personalities, who bring others forward and want

to make progress themselves. People who want

to help shape changes. No matter whether they

already have in-depth media experience or are

making a lateral career move.

TRAINEE PROGRAM

Axel Springer is preparing graduates to take on

specialist and management responsibility. As part

of the 18-month Trainee Program, participants will

get to know the wide variety of departments and

work on complex tasks: for both analog and digital

media, whether online or mobile, national

or international.

JUNIOR EXECUTIVE PROGRAM

This 18 month program offers a variety of individual

stations and provides participants with what it

takes for a responsible career as a media manager.

The program is aimed at people who have

completed their studies outstandingly well,

widened their horizons with periods spent abroad

and have gathered between three and four years

of successful professional experience – not

necessarily in the media industry.

BESTSELLER PROGRAM

Within the framework of the 14-month BestSeller

program the participants learn everything a

modern cross-media sales professional needs

to know.

TOP TALENT PROGRAM

In this group-wide, international development pro-

gram aimed at targeted promotion of young talent

with leadership potential, participants grapple 18

months with the latest models of competitive stra-

tegy and the challenges of digital transformation,

among other topics.

SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM

The Axel Springer Akademie, Germany’s most

progressive school of journalism, teaches the craft

of journalism from scratch within two years: The

focus is on cross-media training and investigative

research methods.

More information at

www.axel-springer-akademie.de

COMMERCIAL AND TECHNICAL

VOCATIONAL TRAINING

Whether media manager or designer, IT special-

ist or industrial business management assistant:

apprentices at Axel Springer are able to learn to

do the various tasks required in one of the most

exciting companies in the digital and publishing

industry.

DUAL COURSE OF STUDY

Through the dual study program, interested

students can acquire the degree of Bachelor

of Science in Business Information Systems or

Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration/Media

and Communications in three years. They gain

practical media know-how at Axel Springer while

developing their academic knowledge at partner

universities.

EDITORIAL OR COMMERCIAL

INTERNSHIP

Axel Springer offers a four-week editorial intern-

ship or a three to six-month commercial internship

for those who want to gain insights into everyday

working life as soon as possible.

More information on vacancies, career opportuni-

ties and contacts can be found at

career.axelspringer.com/en

1514

Making a career depends on many factors. In

addition to your own abilities and skills there are

frequently enough external factors to consider – can

I balance my profession with my family life? Will my

employer support me? We have laid a lot of the

groundwork at Axel Springer in recent years.

It goes without saying for Axel Springer that along-

side work the family is also very important. This ex-

plains why the company has a day nursery in close

proximity, the Wolkenzwerge (“Cloud Dwarfs”) in

Berlin. In addition, an emergency childcare service

and assistance with the care and support of depen-

dent relatives is offered.

The Chancen:gleich! (“equal:opportunities!”)

project aims to double the number of women in

leadership positions to over 30 percent. As at 31

December 2017, the proportion had reached 32

percent across the group. The overall objective of

the initiative: to also reflect the diversity of readers

and users in balanced leadership teams.

Axel Springer SE is active in a dynamic industry, at

the same time deploying a great deal of pioneering

spirit to promote innovation. In order to keep that

one step ahead, employees are offered an excel-

lent further training program, ranging from app

development to online marketing and advanced

business management seminars right up to agile

management, negotiation techniques and mentoring

by experienced managers.

Through targeted health management Axel

Springer SE helps its employees preventively keep

fit. For example, through collaborations with gyms,

back training courses, days of action offering free

health check-ups, yoga courses or cooking work-

shops.

More information is available at

axelspringer.com/career

Corporate Values and Leadership Principles

Axel Springer SE adheres to the following principles,

which determine how work is carried out in the com-

pany and how employees interact with each other:

Creativity as the decisive prerequisite for success

in all segments;

Entrepreneurial spirit, defined as imaginative,

responsible and result-oriented action taken by all

employees;

Integrity towards the company, readers, cus-

tomers, employees, business associates and

shareholders.

There’s More To It

1716

The transformation of the publishers’

own strong media brands: Many print

titles have long established a firm place

for their mobile, online or app versions in

people’s daily information flow.

Investments in its own digital new devel-

opments to suit a wide range of interests

and information needs.

Strategic acquisitions, which complement

and expand the existing range of products

and services in the Classifieds Media, News

Media and Marketing Media.

Axel Springer is further promoting the net-

working with young, creative, pioneer-

ing companies – creating platforms for the

exchange of ideas and experience, support-

ing them through start-up funding as well as

with technology and know-how.

1234

Building Blocksof Digitization

The development and expansion of its digital ac-

tivities is the core of Axel Springer SE’s corporate

orientation. Axel Springer SE is shaping the this

through targeted activities in the following four

areas.

1918

Multimedial Media Brands

Be it online or on paper: Today, stories are above

all are told using multimedia, and are thus adapted

to reflect changes in readers’ usage behavior. Axel

Springer is a pioneer in Germany, developing busi-

ness models for journalism in the digital world. For

professional quality journalism costs money, and

the independence of journalism is strengthened if it

is not financed by advertising alone.

Axel Springer already began to establish paid

journalistic content on the stationary and mobile

Internet back in 2009. Paid services were initially

introduced on smartphones and tablets. The

speed of implementation and innovative strength at

Axel Springer paid off here as well: This is why the

firstGermaniPadappcamefromDIEWELT.

The BILD HD app is regularly at the top of the

rankings among the best-selling apps in Apple’s

iTunes Store and Google’s Android Store.

DIE WELT has launched new subscription models

of their digital offerings and a payment model for

the site welt.de already at the end of 2012. BILD

has started a paid content model on bild.de in

2013. At the beginning of 2018*, DIE WELT re-

corded 79,500 digital subscribers, BILD 384,700.

The successes of Axel Springer’s media brands

in the digital world show: Well-made paid news

services work, if the content is attractive and the

payment process is user-friendly.

*Source: IVW Paid Content 01/2018

2120

Digital Development Laboratory

Axel Springer transformes not only the existing

media brands in the digital world, but also creates

entirely new brands and reading experiences in the

web. Some of the recent digital developments the

lifestyle platforms fitbook.de, and noizz as well as

well as foodbarn.

To enable readers to find offerings, digital distri-

bution platforms make sense. In the iKiosk, in

addition to the Axel Springer SE titles, more than

350 publications from more than 55 publishers are

offered here in the meantime.

ikiosk.de

UPDAY is a platform for news content, both ag-

gregated and curated, which was developed by

Axel Springer for Samsung devices. UPDAY is pre-

installed as a news service on the “Galaxy S7” and

“S7 edge” devices for customers in 16 European

markets, Germany, France, Great Britain, Poland,

Spain and Italy, among others.

UPDAY provides users with two types of content:

“Need to Know” information, which is selected by

a local market editorial team; and “Want to Know”

information, an algorithm-based service tailored to

customers’ individual interests.

Silicon Valley and more

Axel Springer Digital Ventures and Porsche

Digital are building a joint start-up accelerator

in Berlin. Together, the two companies want to

support digital business ideas with high market po-

tential and invest in start-ups in the start-up phase.

In addition to financial support, the accelerator

also provides young companies with access to an

extensive network and training and development

opportunities. Snap Inc. could be won as a further

partner.

Launched in 2013, the Axel Springer Plug and

Play accelerator, a joint venture between Axel

Springer Digital Ventures and the Plug and Play

Tech Center, will focus on further growth of the

existing over 100 portfolio companies.

and support for new financing rounds and the

subsequent exits.

More information at

axelspringerplugandplay.com

Axel Springer has had a permanent representa-

tiveofficeinSiliconValley since 2014. The rep-

resentative office was set up in Palo Alto in order

to sound out investment options in strategically

relevant start-ups and early-stage funds on-site.

At the same time, existing contacts and connec-

tions of Axel Springer SE in Silicon Valley are to be

further developed and relevant business models

and technologies identified for Axel Springer.

The New York representative office which

opened in 2016 is the headquarters for Axel

Springer’s US activities.

A further building block of the networking strategy

is Project A Ventures, in which Axel Springer has

a share. The company specializes in the finance

and establishment of start-ups in the fields of Inter-

net, mobile and online advertising technologies.

www.projectaventures.com

2322

The Family GrowsAxel Springer is growing under its own steam and

is additionally buying companies to accelerate its

growth in the digital world:

In 2016, Axel Springer has acquired the New York-

based company eMarketer Inc., a leading pro-

vider of data and economic analyses for the digital

economy. The transaction is another milestone in

the strategy of growing through digital activities in

the English-speaking world – especially in the US

market. With the takeover, Axel Springer is also

strengthening its position with regard to business

news and information.

Axel Springer incorporated its US media holdings

in Thrillist (a life style medium for “millennials”)

and NowThis Media (a social-video-news media

company) into a new company, Group Nine

Media, with its headquarters in New York. Group

Nine Media also includes The Dodo (a digital

service focusing on the interests of animal lovers)

and Seeker (Discovery Communications’ digital

network for adventure and discovery stories). In

this way Axel Springer holds shares in one of the

largest digital media companies.

The news platform UPDAY also goes online in

Spain and Italy. This means that UPDAY is now

represented in six European markets and has

become a European news platform with editorial

teams in each country producing high quality and

editorially independent digital journalism. By mid-

2017, this service will be extended to a total of 16

countries in Europe.

Following its acquisition of BUSINESS INSIDER,

the Axel Springer family is supporting the inter-

national expansion of the online business portal.

BUSINESS INSIDER is represented on the Internet

with 15 country editions in the meantime. Within

the Axel Springer corporate group, BUSINESS IN-

SIDER is also cooperating with finanzen.net to of-

fer MARKETS INSIDER: real-time financial market

data and business news for the digital generation,

including up-to-date information from almost one

hundred stock exchanges around the world.

The @Leisure Group, one of the leading opera-

tors of online rental portals for holiday homes

in Europe and part of the Axel Springer family,

acquired a majority stake in Traum-Ferienwoh-

nungen GmbH in 2016. Through this acquisi-

tion the @Leisure Group is extending its range of

services in the holiday home industry: from its full-

service provider Belvilla to the booking platform

Casamundo up to the online marketplace Traum-

Ferienwohnungen (dream holiday apartments),

all types of offers for booking holiday homes and

apartments are now united under one roof.

In addition, through the acquisition of Land &

Leisure A/S and its brands DanCenter and Dan-

land, the @Leisure Group has extended its range

of holiday homes and holiday park accommoda-

tion in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany.

The European edition of POLITICO, a joint venture

between POLITICO and Axel Springer, is further

expanding its fee-based real-time news service

for political experts and has included seven policy

areas in this service within one year, for example

“Transport”. Other policy areas are to follow.

Following its success in Poland, Serbia and

Slovakia, NOIZZ is launching in Germany as a co-

operation between BILD and Ringier Axel Springer

Media. NOIZZ reports in a contemporary, personal

and surprising way about everything that moves

its urban and digitally networked target group:

from fashion and lifestyle to street art and hip hop

through to politics and society.

2524

House of Journalism

The self-conception of Axel Springer SE is summa-

rized in a policy paper – the so-called “Axel Springer

homepage”. It defines what Axel Springer is and

wants.

More information at axelspringer.com/home-page

1 We are and will remain a publishing house, a house of journalism

2 We want to inform, advise and entertain our readers independently

and better than others

3 We are and we want to be economically successful

4 We are actively shaping digitization and see this as our great opportunity

5 We do what we do with passion and are constantly striving to

become even better

6 We attract individualists and really promote them

7 We are strengthening freedom, democracy and open minds

“What we are and what we want”

2726

Essentially Free

Media companies have societal responsibility in a

democracy, because they shape the way their read-

ers, listeners, viewers, and users form their opinions.

This is why Axel Springer is the only independent

publishing house to have had a corporate constitu-

tion through the Essentials since 1967, to ensure it

takes account of this responsibility in a transparent

manner.

More information is available at

axelspringer.com/guidelines

It was Axel Springer himself, who fixed in writing the

idea of freedom as the most important value and the

safeguarding thereof as the objective of his com-

pany: The Essentials derived from the commitment

to freedom have been part of the company’s articles

of association as well as the contracts with the

journalists in Germany, and have characterized Axel

Springer ever since. In conjunction with the German

version, an international version of the Essentials,

introduced in March 2016, also unites all employees

in all the companies belonging to Axel Springer in

standing up for freedom.

54321

We stand up for freedom,

the rule of law, democracy

and a united Europe.

We support the Jewish people

and the right of existence of

the State of Israel.

We demonstrate solidarity

with the free values of the

United States of America.

We uphold the principles of

a free market economy and

its social responsibility.

We reject political and

religious extremism.

2928

Diversity of Offerings

A colorful and diverse media world has come

together under the Axel Springer umbrella. The

company is market leader in the German-language

print business and well positioned internationally. It

is taking great strides in its transformation towards

becoming an online publisher and is building up a

fast-growing and profitable digital portfolio.

Journalism is firmly interwoven in Axel Springer’s

DNA. Beyond its journalistic services, there are

specialized online marketers as well as international

advertising portals: Journalism, advertising, classi-

fied ads – these are the three core competencies in

print, and Axel Springer is transferring these three

core competencies onto the Internet.

The media services are structured into the following

segments:

1. Classifieds Models

WHAT? Business models whose revenues are

primarily generated through paying classified ads

customers. These include the online classified ad

portals such as SeLoger, Immonet, Immoweb.

be, StepStone, Totaljobs, yad2, LaCentrale and

meinestadt.de.

WHY? We think it right that people want to

continue to find the right job, the most beautiful

apartment and the safest car for themselves. It is

our task to help them with their search.

2. News Media

WHAT? Business models that are predominantly

funded by paying readers and advertising. The

News Media segment is divided into national and

international offerings. Domestic offerings essen-

tially cover all the activities of the BILD and WELT

Groups. International business comprises the

media offerings in Western and Eastern Europe.

This also includes the Joint Ventures with Ringier

AG in Switzerland and Eastern Europe, as well as

BUSINESS INSIDER and POLITICO.eu.

WHY? We are of the opinion that people value

independent, informative and entertaining journa-

lism and are also happy to pay for it! Whether print

or digital.

3. Marketing Media

WHAT? Business models whose revenues are

primarily generated by advertising clients in reach-

based or performance-based marketing. While

the Reach-Based offerings include digital business

models such as idealo and kaufDA, Performance

Marketing covers the activities of the Awin Group.

WHY? We are convinced that advertising clients

only advertise in the way that is the most efficient

and most innovative in order to reach their custom-

ers. The best ideas and tools are needed for this.

MEDIA AND BRANDS

3130

Classifieds Media

Axel Springer has built up a portfolio of leading on-

line classified ad portals which are predominantly

funded by job, real estate and auto advertising

customers.

With StepStone, Axel Springer

is the market leader among pri-

vate job exchanges in Germany

and Belgium, as well as being

one of the leading providers in

Europe. StepStone’s Totaljobs

Group is the biggest online-

recruiting portal in the UK.

The Saongroup, which also

belongs to StepStone, operates

job portals in 16 countries and

is the market leader in Ireland,

Northern Ireland and South Africa. The portfolio is supple-

mented by the recent acquisi-

tions of Jobsite, a company

operating in the Great Britain,

and the YourCareerGroup,

which specializes in job adver-

tisements for hotels, restaurants

and tourism in the German-

speaking world.

Axel Springer is market leader in

the online market for real estate

classified advertising in France and Belgium with SeLoger

and Logic-Immo as well as

Immoweb.be, respectively. Axel

Springer also operates immo-

net.de, one of the most popular

real estate portals in Germany

under the umbrella of immo-

welt.de. The holiday accommo-

dation rental provider @Leisure

rounds off the portfolio. @Leisure

also includes other providers:

Traum-Ferienwohnungen and

the DanCenter and Danland

portals.

Axel Springer added an impor-

tant portal for used cars to its

offerings with the acquisition of

LaCentrale. yad2, the largest

Israeli classifieds portal, offering real estate, car and classified ads, also belonges to Axel

Springer.

Finally, the regional portal

meinestadt.de provides com-

prehensive information on more

than eleven thousand German

cities and communities, in ad-

dition to a vacancies and jobs

market and an online business

directory service.

3332

News Media national

The diverse program for the German market

includes digital media services as well as printed

newspapers and magazines. Large, successful

brand portfolios such as BILD or WELT make up

the lion’s share.

Whether BILD, BILD am SONNTAG or BILD.de: Germany’s No. 1 media

brand is a part of everyday life for

millions of people. Either as a printed

newspaper, online or

mobile with BILD Mobil.

Berlin scrolls, types or clicks its way

through the various media

offerings from B.Z. –the capital city‘s biggest

and most traditional

daily newspaper.

With AUTO BILD, SPORT BILD,

FUSSBALL BILD, COMPUTER BILD and AUDIO

VIDEO FOTO BILD, Axel Springer SE serves

itssports-loving, car-loving and tech-savvy read-

ership – in print, on the web and with apps.

Alongside numerous innovations in the print sector,

WeltN24 also has a leading role in many online formats with its pioneering spirit.

Through its merger with news channel N24, the

successful WELT brand is now a multimedia news

organization for quality journalism.

3534

News Media international

International business comprises the Axel Springer

SE media offerings in Western and Eastern Europe.

This also includes the Joint Ventures with Ringier

AG in Switzerland and Eastern Europe as well as

BUSINESS INSIDER and the Joint Venture with

POLITICO.

News Media national

Music and lifestyle, entertainment and current

affairs: Axel Springer publishes its ROLLING

STONE, MUSIKEXPRESS, METAL HAMMER and

DIE DAME titles with creativity and the highest

journalistic standards.

3736

Marketing Media This segment covers all those activities of

Axel Springer SE which are predominantly

funded by advertising customers.

Axel Springer owns idealo.de,

Germany’s leading portal for

product search and price com-

parisons, and finanzen.net, the

finance portal with the widest reach in Germany.

kaufDA distributes retailers’

digitized advertising brochures

on the stationary and mobile

Internet – targeting the con-

sumer’s immediate region. This

allows advertisers to extend their

traditional campaigns across the

full range of media and addition-

ally exploit untapped customer

potential. The concept has in the

meantime been established in

five other countries through the

Bonial International Group.

kaufda.de

bonial.com

The Awin Group is the lead-

ing “Performance Advertising

Network for performance-based online marketing” in Germany

and Europe and is also active in

the US with ShareASale. The

principle is simple: Awin displays

its advertising clients’ adverts on

its partners’ web pages, e.g. on

bloggers pages, and the adver-

tiser only pays if a purchase is

actually made after clicking on

the advert.

awin.com

3938

Source: Annual General Report 2017

TOTAL REVENUES:

€ 3,532.7 millionADJ. EBITDA:

€ 645.8 million

ANTEILE DER DIGITALEN MEDIEN …

… OF ADVERTISING REVENUES… OF TOTAL GROUP REVENUES … OF ADJ. EBITDA

OPERATING GLOBALLY:

IN MORE THAN 40 COUNTRIES

EMPLOYEES:

72% 80% 87%

15.836 ... OF WHICH 49 % ARE INTERNATIONAL

FACTS AND FIGURES