It’s official. After weeks of rumors, Axel Springer has sealed the deal, announcing that it is purchasing 88% of Business Insider, a digital business news site based in New York City, for $343 million.According to the official announcement, the goal of the acquisition is threefold: 1) broaden Axel Springer’s global reach, 2) diversify the company’s English-language offerings, and 3) enhance its commitment to innovative digital journalism.

Prior to the deal, Axel Springer owned 9% of the company, bringing its total ownership to 97% of the company. The remaining 3% is owned by Bezos Expeditions, a personal investment company owned by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and the owner of the Washington Post. Business Insider is valued at $442 million.

Business Insider’s founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Henry Blodget and COO and president Julie Hansen will continue to run the digital news site.”We have tremendous respect for Axel Springer’s commitment to independent journalism and its global vision for the future. It is a pleasure and privilege to join forces with such a smart, forward-thinking team. We look forward to working together to build a major global news organization for the digital century,” said Blodget of the sale.

Mathias Dopfner, CEO of Axel Springer also commented on the sale:

“With the acquisition of Business Insider, we continue with our strategy to expand Axel Springer’s digital reach and, as previously announced, invest in digital journalism companies in English-speaking regions of the world. Business Insider has set new standards in digital business journalism globally. Henry Blodget’s way of digital storytelling reaches tomorrow’s decision-makers.”

“Combining our forces will allow us to unlock growth potential and expand Business Insider’s portfolio to new verticals, new locations and new digital content. We look forward to working together with Henry Blodget, Julie Hansen and the exceptional Business Insider team to continue shaping the future. At the same time, I am thrilled to have our close partner Ken Lerer joining us.”

One of Subscription Insider’s favorite industry experts Ken Doctor commented on the rumored sale last week:

“For Springer, majority ownership of Business Insider offers a sweet spot: direction of a (mainly) English-language, global business news product. The fact that is it is entirely digital means that the company doesn’t further need to deal with print-to-digital transformation, as it assumes control,” Doctor said.

“Control of Business Insider would be much more than a consolation prize, after that agonizing, last-minute defeat at Nikkei’s hands in the acquisition of the FT. It signals Springer’s absolute determination to be a big, global player in English-language-based international media.”

Business Insider currently has 76 million unique monthly visitors. This sizable addition to Axel Springer grows the company’s reach to approximately 200 million users, making it one of the world’s six largest digital publishers in terms of audience size.Launched in 2007 by Henry Blodget, Kevin Ryan and Dwight Merriman, Business Insider has a staff of more than 325, about half of whom are journalists. It operates news sites in the U.S., and it will be launching a German edition during the fourth quarter of this year.Headquartered in Berlin, Axel Springer is a leading digital publisher operating in more than 40 countries. It employs more than 15,000 people worldwide. Axel Springer tried unsuccessfully to buy the Financial Times earlier this year, says Re/code.Insider Take:As Re/code points out, this $343 million deal is, well, a big deal. It is the largest sale for a digital-only publisher to date. While other publishers like Vox and BuzzFeed have been valued at higher levels, none has sold at the level of Business Insider so far. According to Re/code and Ken Doctor, Axel Springer wanted a digital asset, and it may have been motivated to pay big bucks after it lost its opportunity to buy the Financial Times.How will this purchase impact Business Insider and its audience? With Blodget and Hansen sticking around to run the show, we don’t anticipate big changes in content, and we hope that the editorial side will remain independent from the business end of things.We are curious to see if Axel Springer will continue Business Insider’s free, ad-supported business model, or if it will leverage its paid content and subscription expertise to shift gears. As always, we’ll keep an eye on things, and let you know of future developments.~ Dana E. Neuts, Subscription Insider