Axel Springer’s September 24, 2020, press release is titled “Friede Springer names Mathias Döpfner her successor.” It says Döpfner purchases about 4.1 percent of Axel Springer SE share capital from the Friede Springer Foundation and is to acquire a further approximately 15 percent as a gift from Friede Springer. Together with a stake of just under 3 percent he already held, the company said he would then hold around 22 percent. Friede Springer announced that voting rights on her remaining package would be exercised by Döpfner.
The release quotes Friede Springer: she had found her successor in Mathias, and with partner KKR they would keep Axel Springer an independent media business. Those are her published words on the company site.
A company “Inside” history page later restated the same percentages and the April 6, 2020, delisting. Reuters, carried on Investing.com, recapped the gift, sale, and vote transfer. Secondary valuation figures (euro amounts) are reporting, not the company’s numbered Fact. Current percentages can change. The 2020 announcement is the documented succession step.