Founded in 1997, Adlibris is the Nordic region’s biggest online book seller. Now, Adlibris is broadening its selection with the ambition to be the region’s best bargain and most inspiring online retailer not just in books, but in hobbies, toys and paper and office products.

“With the new range we want to increase what we offer to our customers and be a welcoming, inspiring site where you can easily buy all the products you need to create, play and craft, at a good price,” says Henrik Oscarsson, COO for Adlibris.

One of the important reasons behind Adlibris’ new focus is the increasing interest in non-fiction, such as cook books, interior design and home improvement books.

“More and more do-it-yourself books are making it to Adlibris best-seller lists, and we see a strong trend for people who want to be creative at home,” says Oscarsson. “Taking our lead from books, and building our product offering based on that, we want to create a unique shopping experience where our customers can find all they need to make their days more creative and colorful.”

The new categories are being launched simultaneously in Finland, Norway and Sweden and are available on the websites.

Eric Zinczenko has been named new CEO of U.S. magazine publisher Bonnier Corporation. Zinczenko, who assumes his duties immediately, succeeds Dave Freygang, who is retiring after 26 years at Bonnier Corporation and its predecessor, World Publications.

“Eric is one of the most respected business leaders in the industry,” says Tomas Franzén, CEO of Bonnier AB and Board Chair for Bonnier Corporation. “As Executive Vice President, he has been instrumental in growing and expanding Bonnier Corporation's brands across multiple platforms.”

Zinczenko was part of Bonnier Corporation’s original management team, and led one of the company’s largest business units, the Bonnier Men’s Group, with top special interest titles Popular Science, Field & Stream and Outdoor Life, among others. Prior to Bonnier, he has held management positions at Outside, the New Yorker, Bicycling and Scuba Diving magazines.

Read a press release here.

Bonnier Books has signed a deal to acquire the operations of Finnish bookstore chain Akateeminen Kirjakauppa (Academic Bookstore) from Stockmann. The deal includes six bookstores and is expected to conclude after the summer.

With the acquisition, Academic Bookstore will be a separate subsidiary of Bonnier Books, which consists of businesses within publishing, e-commerce, distribution and book clubs. 

Academic Bookstore currently has seven stores, in central Helsinki, Tapiola, Itis, Jumbo, Turku, Tampere and Oulo. Stockmann will be closing its department store in Oulu, along with the bookstore there.

“With our book publishers Tammi and WSOY and our successful establishment of Adlibris as the premier Finnish online book retailer, Finland is an important market for us in the long term,” says Jacob Dalborg, head of Bonnier Books. “We want to be a part of developing the Finnish book market. We believe in literature and Academic Bookstore, with its impressive history, is a good fit for us.”

Copenhagen-based magazine publisher Bonnier Publications has acquired quiz app developer Planeto AB, based in Malmö, Sweden. 

The two companies have launched a number of mobile games together since 2012, including the hugely popular Science Illustrated Quiz Battle. The game app has been downloaded over 4 million times in the Nordic region, including by 25 percent of the Danish population. 

"The success with Quiz Battle has shown how much our readers appreciate the chance to test their knowledge against other readers and players," says Jens Henneberg, vice president for Bonnier Publications. "By pulling in Planeto's design skills and development capacity, we can better utilize the content we create daily for our 50 different magazines."

Planeto will in the future work with other global partners who want to develop and offer their own knowledge-based digital experiences as well.

Commercial fiction publishing house Totally Entwined Group has been acquired by U.K.-based Bonnier Publishing.

Totally Entwined Group will join Bonnier Publishing’s rapidly expanding fiction division. Bonnier Publishing Fiction will acquire the whole of Totally Entwined Group, including its flagship erotic romance publishing house Totally Bound Publishing, Pride Publishing (GLBTQI fiction), Finch Books (YA literature), Evidence Press (crime/thriller) and Celebritease (celebrity authors).

“This move is the first of several acquisitions we anticipate on the fiction side of our business," says Mark Smith, Bonnier Publishing Fiction CEO. "Totally Entwined is a great fit for us: a highly entrepreneurial business, working with high profile authors to produce fantastic titles in several different fiction markets.”  

Bonnier Growth Media announced it is acquiring a 20 percent stake in digital content agency Oh My. The acquisition is part of Bonnier’s strategy to grow in content marketing. Bonnier Growth Media’s portfolio already includes content agency Spoon, which today cooperates with Oh My! on tech development and digital production. Existing investor Universum, as well as founders Niclas Wikström, Christian Albinsson and Mark Tiburzi will remain as shareholders in the company.

“Content marketing is a prioritized area within Bonnier and with the acquisition of Oh My!, we will have an even stronger commercial position,” says Ulrika Saxon, CEO of Bonnier Growth Media. 
 
Oh My! is a new, fast-growing player in the communications industry with offices in Stockholm, Piteå, Halmstad and Malmö. The company has experienced strong growth since its inception in 2011.

Nordic Pay TV network C More and TV2 in Norway have concluded a previously announced structural deal. Under the deal, C More sells its Norwegian sports operations to TV2 and initiates a long-term cooperation with C More’s film and series offering in Norway. Read more about the deal in an earlier article.

The Adlibris Group, one of the Nordic region's leading e-commerce groups, continues to grow with the acquisition of Odla.nu, Sweden's biggest gardening site.

The acquisition of Odla.nu is part of the Adlibris Group's development strategy, via acquisitions and organic growth, to become the Nordic region's most inspiring and affordable e-commerce group with a focus on books, hobbies and lifestyle. Among the group's companies are Adlibris, Discshop and Bamba.

"Broadening our offering to customers is one of the key elements for our growth, and Odla.nu will be a welcome addition to the Adlibris Group," says Johan Kleberg, CEO. "Gardening is a segment with a strong local flavor where e-commerce is still underdeveloped, which makes it an exciting area for us. It's also an area that's totally in line with our other segments, since like books and DIY, it's about products where customers share our passion and engagement."

Odla.nu was founded in 1998 and today is Sweden's biggest meeting place and inspiration site for gardening enthusiasts.

Today MTV announced the appointment of Jarkko Nordlund as new CEO. Since late spring, MTV – Finland’s No. 1 broadcaster – has been looking for a new CEO. The search has focused on strengthening the company's position in the digital media market and to turn MTV profitable again. Casten Almqvist, head of Bonnier Broadcasting and Chairman of MTV, has a clear vision of what Jarkko Nordlund will bring to MTV.
 
"With his experience from the Nordic music and pay TV markets, Jarkko Nordlund knows digital transformation," says Almqvist. "Jarkko's management experiences in reforming business operations will bring a drive to MTV's company culture that will ensure the necessary turnaround in close collaboration with both colleagues, consumers, users and advertisers." 
 
The advertising market and media in general are facing substantial challenges, forcing all companies in the field to revise their business models. In addition to having left his mark on the music business, Nordlund also has ten years' experience in establishing and running pay TV operations in Finland as the managing director of Viasat Finland and Canal Plus.
 
"MTV has an impressive track record in creating great experiences to us Finns, and I'm really excited about being given the opportunity to make sure that the company will keep on producing hit shows and experiences that appeal to large groups of viewers. MTV's strong connection to Finnish consumers also benefits our advertisers," says MTV Oy's new CEO Nordlund. His job will be to ensure that MTV remains the country's best entertainer and the most appealing solution for advertisers, while turning the company's operations profitable.

Nordlund starts his new job as CEO on January 1, 2016.

Acting CEO Jani Koskinen has been appointed Executive Vice President Finance and Strategy starting January 1, 2016. He will continue as acting CEO until December 31, 2015.

Resolution Games will receive USD 6 million in the biggest investment round for a virtual reality (VR) game developer ever. Among the primary investors are Bonnier Growth Media as well as Google Ventures.

“We focus on VR over a long time horizon with a small and agile team that can create and develop a range of new concepts, producing game content for a growing market of VR equipment,” says Tommy Palm, co-founder and CEO for Resolution Games. Palm was one of the creative minds behind global mobile game hit Candy Crush Saga. “So far, we’ve developed seven game prototypes, launched our first title, and we are working on the next, which will be a VR game with a fishing theme, due for release in early 2016.”

Says Ulrika Saxon, CEO for Bonnier Growth Media: “Every single person with a smart phone today has what it takes to start experiencing a revolutionary virtual reality experience, once the headset begins being distributed widely, which will be soon. The Resolution Games team has shown that they have the creativity, knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit needed to create success, and we’re happy to be part of the investor group behind this new journey. It’s very much in line with our strategy to invest in local tech startups that are on the cutting edge of digital media development.”

Resolution Games will be using the capital investment to add to its team with developers, and increase the pace of building a portfolio of quality titles for the fast-growing VR market. The company is based in Stockholm and plans to grow with the help of the strong Swedish talent pool within game development.

U.S.-based media company Bonnier Corporation has purchased instructional website Learnwake.com.  Learnwake.com is the authority in wakeboarding instructional content with how-to videos, beginner through advanced tricks, tips and much more. The site is a complement to Bonnier Corporation's wakeboarding brands, including the magazine Wakeboarding.

“This strategic acquisition reinforces Wakeboarding's focus on high-value audience,” says Matt Hickman, Vice President of Brand Strategies at Bonnier Corporation. “The brand will integrate Learnwake.com to further identify, surface and activate graduating enthusiasts committed to progressing and supporting their wake lifestyle.”

This fall the Wakeboarding brand will be producing additional video content for the Learnwake platform as it ramps up all the benefits to being a Learnwake member.

Content agency Spoon and magazine publisher Bonnier Media have announced they are jointly acquiring Teft, the Norwegian content marketing agency.

Under the acquisition, Teft and Bonnier Creative, the content marketing division of Bonnier Media, will merge together with Spoon’s current operations in Oslo to become Spoon in Norway.  Following the acquisition, the new Spoon in Norway will have 18 Norwegian employees and an expected turnover of NOK 30 million in 2016.

“It’s a perfect match,” says Anders Ribba, CEO for Spoon. “Teft’s recognized knowledge together with Bonnier Media’s expertise and our global presence gives us a position as Norway’s leading content marketing agency.”

”We’re doing this to strengthen and complement the offer to our current content marketing customers and our advertisers,” says Trond Juliussen, Managing Director for Bonnier Media. “By joining together with Spoon and Teft, we can provide a clear value-added for our customers and take the position as preferred partner.”

Teft started in 2006 and has since grown to a full-service agency and Norway’s strongest owner-run agency within content marketing. The company has today 14 employees and among its clients are Vinmonopolet, OBOS, Securitas, Kongsberg Gruppen, Statsbygg and a number of daily newspapers. It has worked previously with Bonnier Media in its magazine growth and development.

The new company, which will be called Spoon, will be located at Teft’s current offices on Akersgata in central Oslo. Eirik Norderud, CEO for Teft and one of the company’s three owners, will be CEO for Spoon Norway.

“I am convinced that Lotta Edling will continue with great success to develop and consolidate Dagens industri's unique position as Sweden’s top business newspaper,” says Tomas Franzén, board chair for Dagens industri. “During Peter Fellman's leadership, Dagens industri has set the agenda for all business journalism, both on paper and digitally.”

Lotta Edling, who has been head of the news desk for Dagens industri since 2009, will take over as editor-in-chief from January 1, 2016. She has extensive experience as a journalist and editorial leader from business publications such as Affärsvärlden, Ekonomi24 and Veckans Affärer.

“I am very proud and happy to have the opportunity to lead Dagens industri into a new exciting era,” says Edling. “Dagens industri has a fantastic position. It’s an extremely strong brand and an important voice in Swedish trade and industry business. I look forward to strengthening this position even further together with our many talented employees, by developing and renewing our journalism and our offer to readers in all our channels.”

Says Peter Fellman: “I am pleased to hand the position over to Lotta and am confident that she will take Dagens industri forward to continued success. I am also proud that we have strengthened our position in business journalism on all of our platforms, particularly our conference and event business. Now I hope to realize a long-standing personal dream to work as a correspondent in New York and thus be able to contribute to Dagens industri’s future.”

Gunilla Herlitz, CEO of Dagens industri says: “I have worked closely with both Peter and Lotta for many years and know that this change guarantees continuity. The challenges are many, but Dagens industri has such a unique position among both readers and advertisers that the opportunities to continue to develop the newspaper's content and accessibility are huge.”

Dagens industri is part of the business area Bonnier News along with Dagens Nyheter, Expressen, Sydsvenskan/Helsingborgs Dagblad and Bold Printing.

Bonnier Business Media Sweden has announced it is acquiring the environmental news media Miljöaktuellt from media company IDG.

"We look forward to working with Miljöakutellt and developing all the products that are part of the brand," says Mikael Nestius, CEO for Bonnier Business Media Sweden. "Miljöakutellt has under IDG developed into a modern media operation with many different products and revenue streams that are leaders in environment and sustainability issues."

IDG acquired Miljöaktuellt from Naturvårdverket in 2007 and since then has developed it into a leading player for professionals and decisionmakers within CSR, environmental and sustainability issues.

Bonnier Business Media is also majority owner of Miljörapporten, which has a similar focus.

"We will start working with how Miljöaktuellt and Miljörapporten can cooperate in the future to be ever more successful," says Nestius.

The sales organizations of Dagens Nyheter, Dagens industri and Expressen will be joined under a single umbrella within the business area Bonnier News. The changes will bring a number of expected advantages.

"We are creating an organization that can help customers stay on top of the rapid development that's happening in media everywhere," says Henrik Stangel, head of ad sales for Bonnier News.

The change is being driven by customers' changed behaviors in the market as well as increased competition from global players.

"We will need to develop new common platforms, services and formats that will ensure we are better equipped for the future," says Stangel. "Now, we are creating an organization that will be cutting edge and flexible. With new ways of working, we can better meet our customers current and upcoming expectations."

The biggest changes are that Bonnier News is adding a new division to the current organization: Bonnier News Sales. The division will drive common digital sales development, ad operations and a studio that will develop customer-centric concepts for all of the Bonnier News platforms.

"This is where we'll have our entire inventory and data, which will make it easier for us to work further with a clear programmatic strategy for all the brands," says Alexander Lydecker, today advertising director for Expressen. Lydecker will be responsible for the new Bonnier News Sales division. "The purpose is to simplify things for the customer while at the the same time create possibilities for complex solutions that meet our customers' needs. Thanks to our platforms and brands, we will then be able to develop tailored ad solutions together with the customer."

This will not be the only change as a result of the new sales organization.

"We'll have Sweden's absolutely strongest brands: Dagens Nyheter, Expressen and Dagens industri," says Andreas Sandin, currently advertising director at Dagens industri, who will also be responsible for Dagens Nyheter's sales. "Now we're pulling together so we can take the best care of our brands with their unique strengths, and the unique editorial and relevant environment that many of our customers find attractive."

The way of working will change for classified ads as well. Job, real estate, cars and entertainment classified sales will be its own sales company under Dan Morén, today advertising director at Dagens Nyheter.

"I'm excited to have gotten the support and chance to create a completely new sales company," says Morén. "We will focus wholly on common classified markets and can invest in technology that can be used in all our platforms and brands. We will take a comprehensive approach to our partner investments with those advertising solutions we have in common. We can now focus our resources on supporting sales including with those partner investments we've already made, such as Hitta Hem, Insplanet, Auranest and Merajobb.se."

The change within Bonnier News is a continuation of the cooperation already started among Dagens Nyheter, Dagens industri and Expressen, including with, among other things, the Bonnier Ad Network.

"In this way, we can offer truly smart customer solutions and collaboration opportunities, regardless of whether the customer wants to use the power of all of our brands or just one in particular," says Stangel.

The new common Bonnier News sales organization will include:

●    Dagens industri
●    Dagens Nyheter
●    Expressen
●    Bonnier News Sales including the Bonnier Ad Network
●    Partner companies: Various service companies that have been invested in
●    Live: Conference and event organization
●    Sales Company: Classifieds 

The new organization's planned launch is no later than Jan. 1, 2016.

Bonnier Business Polska, publisher of top Polish business daily Puls Biznesu and financial website Bankier.pl, has announced it has acquired a 100-percent stake in Prawomaniacy. The startup, based in Olsztyn in norwestern Poland, is behind the brand Arslege.pl, the biggest online service for bar exam preparation and other test preparation for professional qualification exams for civil engineers, architects and others, as well as online legal database Lexlege.pl.

“This acquisition opens us up to the most prestigious and attractive professional niches: young lawyers, builders, clerks, accountants, brokers, financial advisors and more. It is a new step in the process of building a strong Bonnier presence in Poland, based on digital media,” says Patricia Deyna, CEO for Bonnier Business Polska and Prawomaniacy.

The sellers were the founders and managing owners together with private equity fund IQ Partners. Managing owners Arkadiusz Howara and Tomasz Ostrowski will continue with Prawomaniacy following the transaction, serving as board members.

“We are happy to join such a well-known international media group,” say Howara and Ostrowski. “It is a great opportunity for us. With such support we can develop even faster, including in other markets. We bring to Bonnier attractive target groups, a profitable business and a lot of start-up spirit!”

The Gothenburg Book Fair opened today with a seminar on a new campaign: Läslov (literal translation: Reading Vacation). Läslov is an initiative from Swedish publishing house Bonnierförlagen and bookstore chain Akademibokhandeln. The idea is to change the name of the traditional fall school break, Höstlov in Swedish, to Läslov. The goal is to get it into teaching plans for 2016.

"Establishing the concept of a reading vacation has both a symbolic and practical value in today's Sweden, where language and reading have ever greater meaning," said Johan Unenge, author at Bonnier Carlsen, reading coach and spokesperson for Läsrörelsen, a non-profit organization promoting children's reading.

Unenge was joined onstage by a panel that included Swedish Culture Minister Alice Bah Kuhnke and Education Minister Gustav Fridolin.

"In the same way that the winter sports break doesn't force us to do sports, but gives us the chance and spurs our appetites to be active, I hope that Läslov can whet people's appetites for reading," said Gustave Fridolin during the panel discussion.

Alice Bah Kunke added: "Children's and young people's reading is incredibly important because it basically is about democracy. In order to critically judge writing and understand what's happening requires reading competence."

Bonnierförlagen is a large force behind the initiative. "But it's the bigger group, that we are so many who want the same thing, that will make the difference," says Bodil Unenge, responsible for corporate social responsibility at Bonnierförlagen.

The work behind the idea is now being done via Läsrörelsen, where Läslov has become a broad and unique reading promotion initiative with student organizations, book publishers, libraries, bookstores, sports teams, unions, cultural institutions and companies in a big and growing network.

"We hope that creating a fall break that focuses on everything about stories will create an appetite for reading," says Johan Unenge. "Because if you don't have an appetite for reading, it won't be fun. The ability of schools to create an appetite for reading is limited, but if we dedicate a whole week to it, it can be a real jump-start."

Competition authorities have approved Bonnier Books' acquisition of Finnish bookstore chain Akateeminen Kirjakauppa (Academic Bookstore) under a previously reported deal. As of October 1, Akateeeminen Kirjakauppa will be a part of Bonnier Books. Read more in a press release (in Swedish).

Now No. 2 in children’s books in the U.K., Bonnier Publishing has seen explosive growth and big changes in the past year. We talked with CEO Richard Johnson about what’s been happening at the book publishing group.

Tell us about your most recent acquisition, the Totally Entwined Group.
It’s a really exciting company with huge growth potential. The Totally Entwined Group has a backlist of some 2,000 titles but only in digital. Up until now it has rarely printed a book. With our reach into the U.K. and international retailers, we can bring their digital to print (which is usually the other way around). At the same time, it fit the growth strategy for our new adult fiction division really well.

Why did you start this new division?
We have created a division for adult fiction simply because this was the last area of publishing we were not trading in, and we had all the right structure in place to bolt this last piece into the jigsaw. Mark Smith came along just at the time we were ready to implement the plan, so the timing was perfect to bring him in to head the division, along with his imprint, Zaffre Publishing.

You’re also growing organically, with Blink for example.
Blink has had huge success, principally because of The Pointless Books, which in one calendar year between both books, we have sold around 600,000 copies. The Pointless Book 2 was also the No. 1 book in the whole of the U.K. for two weeks in April, the first time we have been to the top of the charts. From a startup only formed 18 months ago, that was something we were very proud of.

How has your market position changed?
Twelve months ago, we were not even in the Top 20 of U.K. publishers. Now through all our startups and the acquisition of Igloo Books, by the end of this year we will be the 4th biggest publisher. And by the end of 2016, we will be the 3rd biggest. We are also now the 2nd biggest children’s publisher in the U.K.

Are there likely to be new acquisitions or startups in the next year?
I think we have stopped with the startup plans, we have done five in the past three years and that is enough. We now want to see the results of all those plans coming together. We are a GBP 100 million group now and even if we did nothing more and just carried on with what we have, we would grow another 20 percent in the next two years as everything comes together.

So what are you reading right now?
I only read our books! I’ve just finished a book called Maestra which will be released next March by us, and we think it will be huge around the whole world in 2016. We have sold the Hollywood film rights to Sony and 25 different countries have bought the book. 

BookBeat is the name of a new service in Sweden under development by Bonnier Books. With BookBeat, users can read e-books or listen to audio books directly in their smart phones, whenever and wherever. An enormous catalog of books, a mix of classics and a selection of the latest releases will be available via the app.

"Bonnier Books has seen how the market for digital books has grown," says Niclas Sandin, CEO for BookBeat. "BookBeat is a way to be part of this and drive development."

BookBeat aims to get more readers and listeners by improving and simplifying the experience. "Our primary target group are those who haven't yet read an e-book or listened to an audiobook, or that they don't have the time to read," says Sandin.

That BookBeat has already been compared to Storytel, the Scandinavian-Dutch streaming audiobook service, is natural says Sandin.

"There's nothing wrong with being compared to someone who's done great things in driving the development of the market, and there will certainly be some similarities between the services to begin with," says Sandin. "However, we believe the market will grow and consist of more than those who are already using and appreciating Storytel. Our focus isn't on how we differ today but on how we reach the market in the long run by creating the best service possible."

BookBeat will be driven as a startup, separate from Bonnier Books' other operations.

"For Bonnier Books, it was important to create a completely new business that will focus solely on developing BookBeat, both now before launching but even over the long term," says Sandin. "All the team members will be part of the journey to create something from scratch and take responsibility for dealing with all the successes and challenges we'll experience along the way."

The first version of BookBeat will be released to a limited customer group at the end of the year. A broader launch will be made in stages during 2016. The books will mostly be Swedish.

Anyone curious about BookBeat can go to bookbeat.com already now and apply to test the service as the launch gets closer.

Interested in working for BookBeat?
The Stockholm office is now recruiting for several positions. You can find the individual positions available at www.bonnier.com/job-career/jobs.