Bonnier Books acquires Strawberry Publishing’s businesses in Sweden and Denmark

The acquisition from the Norwegian publishing group encompasses Strawberry Publishing in Sweden – comprising Strawberry Förlag and Bazar Förlag – and Strawberry Forlag in Denmark.

Håkan Rudels, CEO of Bonnier Books, said: ‘I am impressed by what Strawberry’s employees and owners have achieved in a short time, in both Sweden and Denmark. The Nordic region has long been Bonnier Books’ home market and through these acquisitions we are strengthening our position in Sweden, while our presence in Denmark will take a big step forward. The acquisitions also take us further on our growth journey in the Nordics and Europe over the next few years. We are looking forward to welcoming our new colleagues and authors to Bonnier Books.’

The acquisition of Strawberry Publishing in Sweden includes many popular authors, such as Lucinda Riley and Ninni Schulman. Strawberry Forlag in Denmark was founded less than a year ago but has already attracted many strong writers, such as Katrine Engberg, Camilla Läckberg and Viveca Sten.

On the deal Petter Stordalen, main owner of Strawberry Publishing AS, said: ‘Bonnier has been our biggest competitor, and there is no one you respect more than the one you fight the hardest, so we are happy that they are the ones who will develop our companies further. In less than a year, our employees have built up a publishing business approaching 50 million SEK in sales and that is on track to double in 2021. First and foremost, Bonnier takes over some of the most respected and innovative publishing staff in the Nordic publishing world. I can only congratulate them.’

‘Book publishing is in the middle of a period of digitalisation which will require all our focus in Norway, so it feels natural to pass the baton in Sweden and Denmark to Bonnier, which is a leader in that area.’

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