Storytel acquires the Finnish publisher Aula & Co
Storytel Books AB (“Storytel Books”), a subsidiary to Group parent Storytel AB (publ) (“Storytel”), is acquiring a 100 percent stake in the Finnish publisher Aula & Co.
Through this acquisition, Storytel further strengthens its position as distributor, producer and publisher on the Finnish market where Storytel, in 2019, acquired Gummerus – Finland’s third-largest publishing house.
Founded in 2016 by CEO Niko Aula, the Helsinki located publisher Aula & Co has rapidly grown to become one of the most interesting and forward-leaning forces in Finnish publishing. Approximately 35 percent of its USD 1.19 million revenue in 2020 came from digital sales including several bestselling audiobook titles.
Today, Aula & Co publishes 40 new titles per year and encompasses an attractive catalogue, which includes both translated and Finnish fiction and non-fiction for children and adults.
Its line up includes a slew of respected and popular titles and authors such as Heather Morris (“The Tattooist of Auschwitz”), Matt Haig (“Midnight Library”, “The Boy Called Christmas”, “Reasons to Stay Alive”), Björn Natthiko Lindeblad, Lucia Berlin (“Manual for Cleaning Women”), Neil deGrasse Tyson (“Astrophysics for People in a Hurry”), Leigh Bardugo (“Shadow and Bone”), Victoria Aveyard (“Red Queen”,“Realm Breaker”), and Finnish names such as Ari Turunen (“Tuoksujen atlas”), Tuire Malmstedt (“Lasitarha”) and Juha Hietanen (“Huuhkajan siivet”).
“I am happy to welcome Niko and Aula & Co’s talented, entrepreneurial and digitally savvy team of publishers to Storytel Books. This acquisition reinforces and further develops Storytel Books’ presence in Finland, and I am convinced that Aula & Co, alongside our local flagship Gummerus, will captivate and entertain the Finnish book readers and listeners with both exciting new and established authors and an even broader quality content offering,” said Linda Säresand, CEO of Storytel Books.
“At Aula & Co we love great stories and big ideas, and our passion is to produce a wide range of extraordinary books that matter to the readers. To me, joining the Storytel family means getting an owner that not only shares our passion, but also has digital muscles and a deep understanding of publishing and management of intellectual property.
Storytel is also one of the strongest digital growth drivers in the book industry in these times of rapid transformation. I am sure that both our authors and our readers will benefit from this, and we are excited to get acquainted with all new colleagues”, said Niko Aula, who remains as CEO of Aula & Co.
The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price which will not have a substantial impact on the Storytel Group’s finances. The purchase price will be paid partly in cash and partly through the issuance of shares in Storytel AB (publ). The closing is expected to take place in August 2021.