Bonnier

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bonnier AB
Type Private
Founded 1804 in Copenhagen, Denmark
Headquarters Stockholm, Sweden
Key people Carl-Johan Bonnier, Chairman
Bengt Braun, President and CEO
Jonas Bonnier, Bonnier Magazine Group
Industry media group
Products newspapers, books, radio, television
Revenue 20,051 M SEK (2005)
Net income 2,585 M SEK (2005)
Employees 9,641 (2005)
Website bonnier.com

Bonnier (also the Bonnier Group) is a privately-held Swedish media group of 150 companies operating in 21 countries. It is controlled by the Bonnier family. The company was started in 1804 by Gerhard Bonnier in Copenhagen, Denmark when Bonnier published his first book, Underfulde og sandfærdige kriminalhistorier. Gerhard's sons later moved to Sweden. The Bonnier publishing companies now include Albert Bonniers förlag and Wahlström & Widstrand in Sweden. The Danish Bonnier Forlagene includes Lindhart og Ringhof and Carlsen. The Group's subsidiary in Finland is Tammi, and the subsidiary in Norway is Cappelens forlag. Bonnier is the leading publisher of children's books in Germany, where it also publishes fiction. Bonnier publishing operations are also established in the UK and in France, Australia and USA. Bonnier is controlled by around 75 family members - including some seventh generation heirs.

[edit] Time Inc. magazines acquisition

In January 2007, the Bonnier Magazine Group agreed to acquire 18 magazines that Time Inc. was divesting. The estimated price was US$ 225 million in cash and the assumption of about US$ 42 million in unfulfilled subscription liabilities (subscriptions already paid but not yet delivered.) The magazines in the package employed 550 people and included Popular Science, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Ski, Yachting, and Transworld Snowboarding, as well as 11 other titles that were part of Time Inc.'s Time4 Media Group. Also included were Parenting, and Babytalk, which were part of the Parenting Group. That price was believed to be a multiple of about 11 times cash flow for a group that had net income of around US$ 20 million and revenue of around $230 million. "We think we did a good deal, and we think Time did as well," said Jonas Bonnier, head of Bonnier Magazine Group. Bonnier already has a small footprint in the U.S. through a 50 percent stake in Winter Park, Florida -based World Publications, which owned Islands and Spa, Saveur, Water Skiing, and Caribbean Travel & Life. [1]