Süddeutsche Verlag

Logo of Süddeutsche Verlag

Süddeutscher Verlag was founded in 1947 with the publication of the first edition of the Süddeutsche Zeitung in Munich. The publishing house was owned by the five founding families (Friedmann, Goldschagg, Seidlein, Schwingenstein and Dürrmeier) until 2007, when four of the families finally agreed to sell the company to Südwestdeutsche Medien Holding (SWMH). Today - of the original founders - only the Friedmann family is still involved.
In addition to the flagship Süddeutsche Zeitung, the publishing house includes several subsidiaries in the fields of local newspapers (Bayerische Staatszeitung, Frankenpost, Nordbayerischer Kurier, Südthüringer Zeitung, Neue Presse Coburg, Freies Wort, Meininger Tageblatt) and specialised publications.

Key Facts

Business FormCommercial / For-profit
Legal FormLimited liability company (GmbH)
Business SectorsCharity; Printing technology and services; Marketing agency; Advertising; Logistics

Ownership

Individual Owner
Group / Individual Owner
  • Albert Esslinger-Kiefer

    Publisher of Pforzheimer Zeitung.
    5.1
  • Ruth Alberle

    Descendant of the founder of the Neue Württembergische Zeitung.
    6
  • The Ebner Family

    The Ebner family of publishers has been active in the media landscape in southern Germany for several generations. Eberhard Ebner, who was co-publisher and shareholder of Südwest Presse, died at the beginning of 2024. Ebner was also chairman of the supervisory board of SWMH and a member of the editorial board of Süddeutsche Zeitung.
    9.7
  • Minor Shareholders

    Around 40 % of the participations are distributed across numerous co-owners of the main owner Südwestdeutsche Medienholding.
    40.4

Media Outlets

Other Media Outlets

Other Online Outlets
  • Süddeutsche.de (100%)
  • Frankenpost.de (65%)
  • Nordbayerischer-Kurier.de (42%)
  • InSuedthueringen.de (70%)
  • NP-Coburg.de (65%)
  • Bayerische-Staatszeitung.de (50%)
other_print_titles
  • Frankenpost (0.27%)
  • Nordbayerischer Kurier (0.2%)
  • Südthüringer Zeitung (0.35%)
  • Neue Presse Coburg (0.1%)
  • Freies Wort
  • Meininger Tageblatt
  • Bayerische Staatszeitung
  • SZ Magazin
  • SZ Langstrecke

Facts

Other Media BusinessesAdvertising
  • Republic (50%)
Communication & Marketing
  • SZ Scala (100%)
Archive and Research Services
  • Dokumentations- und Informationszentrum (DIZ) (100%)
Other Domestic BusinessesPrinting plant
  • Süddeutscher Verlag newspaper printing (100%)
Logistics
  • Zamdo (100%)
Charity
  • SZ Readers' Foundation
  • SZ Good Works
Founding Year1945
Founder
  • The Allies
    (USA, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union) were looking for suitable people to be granted a licence to publish a daily newspaper in Bavaria. It was crucial that the people were not migrants, i.e. that they had witnessed the Nazis' deeds in the country, and they were orientated towards the pre-war party profile. The following three men were ultimately selected:
  • August Schwingstein
    was a state parliament correspondent for the liberal Bavarian Farmers' Association and was physically attacked by an NSDAP member of parliament in 1931. The Nazis banned him from his profession in 1933.
  • Franz Josef Schöningh
    was the editor of a Catholic magazine that was banned by the NSDAP and wrote non-political novels during the Nazi era.
  • Edmund Goldschagg
    was a social democrat and political editor from Freiburg im Breisgau. He too was no longer allowed to pursue his profession under National Socialism. Goldschagg became the first editor-in-chief of the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
ContactSüddeutscher Verlag
Hultschiner Straße 8
81677 München
Germany
verlagsleitung@sz.de
+49 89 2183 0
https://www.sueddeutscher-verlag.de
Tax / ID NumberDE 811158310
Revenue€ 310 Million (2021) / USD 365 Million (revenues of Süddeutschen Zeitung)
Operating ProfitMissing Data
Advertising (in % of total funding)Missing Data
Executive Board
  • Dr Christian Wegner
    born 1974 in Bad Homburg, studied business administration and was a member of the Executive Board of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE until 2017. He has been Managing Director of Südwestdeutsche Medienholding GmbH since 2018 and has also been Managing Director of Süddeutsche Zeitung since 2021.
  • Dr Karl Ulrich
    born in Munich in 1961, studied philosophy and business administration and previously worked at the management consultancy Roland Berger. He worked there as a consultant for Süddeutsche Zeitung from 2002 before moving to Süddeutscher Verlag as Managing Director in 2010.
Other Influential People
  • Oliver Friedmann
    grandson of Werner Friedmann, who became the fourth licensee of the Süddeutsche Zeitung in 1946. Today, Oliver Friedmann is on the SZ's editorial board and the Friedmann family of publishers owns 18.8% of the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
  • Thomas Schaub
    is also on the editorial board and also comes from a family of publishers. Schaub is the head of Medien Union GmbH Ludwigshafen, which in turn holds a 44% stake in Südwestdeutsche Medienholding GmbH.
  • Dr. Richard Rebmann
    is also one of the publishers of the SZ. He is also a shareholder and publisher of the Schwarzwälder Bote. Schwarzwälder Bote GmbH u. Co KG is a member of the Württembergischer Verleger group and holds a stake in Südwestdeutsche Medien Holding GmbH (SWMH).
Headlines
Data Publicly Available
ownership data is easily available from other sources, e. g. public registries etc.
Meta DataSüddeutscher Verlag is a limited liability company and does not publish any financial figures. The only information available on its turnover is for 2021 – and even then only from indirect sources.
The average dollar exchange rate for 2021 was used for the conversion (1.18 USD for 1 euro).
Sources