German publisher Axel Springer is to buy a further 88 per cent of news website Business Insider for $343 million, it said on Tuesday.

Springer, which earlier this year missed out on buying the Financial Times newspaper from Pearson, said it already owns about 9 per cent of the website, which has 76 million monthly visitors.

“The purchase price based on 100 per cent amounts to $442 million on the basis of a cash and debt free valuation of $390 million,” the company said in a statement.

“The valuation corresponds to an amount of $343 million for the 88 per cent of the shares that Axel Springer is acquiring.”

Amazon's founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos will hold the rest of the shares via his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions, Springer said in a statement.

“The transaction is an essential component of Axel Springer’s strategy to grow with digital journalistic offerings in English-language geographies,” the company said.

Reuters