• by Ray Schultz , February 12, 2025

Axel Springer is now the sole owner of the digital business newsroom Morning Brew Inc. 

The German company A has completed a financial transaction that increases its position from majority shareholder in Morning Brew to full ownership.

The exact terms were not disclosed. 

As part of this change, Austin Rief will step down as CEO of Morning Brew and become executive chairman of the company. Robert Dippell, formerly the CRO/COO, has been named CEO. 

Devin Emery, formerly the chief content officer, will serve as president. 

Rief co-founded Morning Brew 10 years ago while he was a student at the University of Michigan. Starting with a single newsletter, it now has 20 franchises. 

“Under Austin’s leadership as CEO, the company has shown impressive growth and has implemented the kind of disruptive, forward-thinking ideas required to succeed in today’s media landscape,” said Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer.

Axel Springer owns Bild, Business Insider, Politico, Welt, Morning Brew, Dyn Media, EMarketer and the joint venture Ringier Axel Springer Poland. Last year, the company announced it would spin off its classifieds business to concentrate on its media properties.