Axel Springer rejects talk of Sport1 takeover

German media company Axel Springer has rejected reports that it is in talks to acquire sports broadcaster Sport1.

According to multiple reports last month, Axel Springer was said to have entered into exclusive negotiations with fellow media company Constantin Medien.

German newspaper Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung and the Reuters news agency both reported on the negotiations, with the latter stating that Axel Springer had offered more than €80m ($93.1m) for Sport1.

However, Axel Springer has rejected such suggestions following the publication of its first-half financial results. “From today's point of view, Sport1 is not a priority for us,” Axel Springer chief executive Mathias Doepfner said, according to Reuters.

When asked whether talks were ongoing, he replied: “No.”

In June, Constantin Medien launched a bidding process with the aim of selling all its shares in Sport1 and the Sport1 Media advertising sales agency. The shares are held by the media company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Constantin Sport Holding.

Constantin was said to have been in talks with Axel Springer, pay-television broadcaster Sky and other investment vehicles, as well as internet company Freenet.

The decision to explore a sale of Sport1 and the Sport1 Media divisions was viewed with surprise in some quarters. In November, Constantin announced plans to launch a second free-to-air sports channel as part of an apparent strategic shift that would have allowed the company to concentrate its efforts on the sports sector.

However, a power struggle at the helm of Constantin has raised question marks about the future direction of the company. In December a takeover approach by Constantin’s supervisory board chairman, Dieter Hahn, for the media company and its subsidiary, Highlight Communications, was rejected.

Constantin operates free-to-air channel Sport1 and pay-television channels Sport1 Plus and Sport1 US, as well as the Team Marketing agency. Sport1 has rights for a number of football properties, including the German Bundesliga.