Axel Springer open to TikTok Europe deal as ByteDance rejects report

Axel Springer expressed interest in participating in a possible European TikTok deal, while TikTok parent ByteDance said no such deal exists. Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner indicated in a January 2026 meeting with Charles Kushner, the U.S. ambassador to France, that the publisher might join an arrangement similar to TikTok's U.S. setup, and Springer said it would have welcomed the opportunity. ByteDance dismissed the report as entirely fabricated and not worth commenting on. It is unclear whether an ownership change would alter TikTok's approval process for cryptocurrency ads, though any new owner would still have to follow existing European regulations.