Deutsche Bank will next week auction off a 40% stake in Axel Springer which publishes the prominent German newspapers, Bild and Die Welt.
The bank has taken responsibility for the stake from Kirch Media which has been unable to repay loan debts after falling into bankruptcy earlier this year (see
KirchMedia Files For Bankruptcy Signalling The Demise Of The Kirch Empire). The auction will take place at a hotel in Frankfurt next Tuesday.
This development has set pulses racing at Ringier, the Swiss publisher, which is in merger talks with Springer and could now make a bid for the stake. Meanwhile, media reports suggest that Kirch is considering an insolvency filing for the unit that holds the Springer shares in order to stop the auction going ahead.
