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Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman dines in NYC with Axel Springer CEO after threat of Business Insider suit: sources

Did they reach a détente over foie gras?

After Bill Ackman threatened to sue Business Insider last month, spies tell Page Six that the billionaire hedge fund manager was spotted dining at Daniel last week with Mathias Döpfner, the CEO of Business Insider’s parent company, Axel Springer.

Eyebrows were raised at haute Upper East Side eatery Daniel, when Ackman and Döpfner were “seated together in a corner of the restaurant,” where a four-course prix fixe dinner goes for $188 per person.

Ackman previously called Business Insider “toast” in a social media post. Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

“They were very much noticed. It looked cordial — like they were having a good time — it was certainly a nice exchange,” a source said.

We further hear that Döpfner picked up the tab for the duo.

Mathias Döpfner and the hedge fund big were at a corner table together. Getty Images

The source further said that from across the room it looked more like a meal rather than a business meeting.

But it’s unclear what was being discussed over the cuisine by chef Daniel Boulud.

Power diners at the restaurant were left buzzing, said the source.

Axel Springer also is the owner of Politico. Getty Images

The “cordial” meal comes after Ackman last month threatened to sue Axel Springer’s Business Insider after the outlet published two articles accusing Ackman’s accomplished wife, Neri Oxman, of plagiarism.

Oxman is a renowned artist and architect who has had exhibitions at MoMA and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, taught at the MIT Media Lab and designed a series of 3D-printed masks for Björk.

Axel Springer is the German media company that also owns Politico and Bild, among other brands.

The Pershing Square CEO had also been an outspoken critic of Harvard’s former head, Claudine Gay. Kris Tripplaar/Sipa USA

When Business Insider’s pieces on Oxman came out, outspoken Ackman posted on X: “Business Insider is toast. You will hear from us in a few weeks.”

He added, invoking the epic film “Gladiator, ” “It will look something like this: At My Signal, Unleash Hell.”

Business Insider’s CEO, Barbara Peng, previously issued a statement defending Business Insider’s reporting, saying at the time, “there was no unfair bias or personal, political and/or religious motivation in pursuit of the story.”

The meal left diners buzzing, we hear. Getty Images for Vox Media

The Oxman allegations by Business Insider came after outspoken Ackman had criticized Harvard President Claudine Gay.

Gay resigned last month amid outrage over her appearance at a congressional hearing on antisemitism, and charges that her academic writing contained examples of improperly credited work. (Gay denied any wrongdoing.)

But amid all the controversy, Ackman also had posted on X, “I have heard truly wonderful things about Mathias Dopfner who is the CEO and a major shareholder of Axel Springer, from friends whose opinions I trust” — before he again slammed Business Insider.

Reps did not comment.

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