Storytel

Last updated
Storytel AB
Company type Public
Nasdaq Stockholm:  STORY B
Industry Audiobooks
Founded2006;18 years ago (2006)
FoundersJonas Tellander
Jon Hauksson
Headquarters Stockholm, Sweden
Key people
Johannes Larcher (CEO)
Website storytel.com
audiobooks.com

Storytel AB is a Swedish e-book and audiobook subscription service based in Stockholm. It is available in more than 25 countries. [1] Its English audiobook service Audiobooks.com is available in more than 150 countries. [2]

Contents

History

Storytel was founded in 2006 by Jonas Tellander and Jon Hauksson. [3]

In 2016, Storytel acquired Norstedts förlag, one of Sweden's largest book publishers, and Mofibo, a Danish book service. [4] [5] The following year, Storytel acquired People's Press, another Danish publisher, and expanded its operations to Russia, Spain, India, and the United Arab Emirates. [6]

In 2018, Storytel acquired Seslenen Kitaplar, a Turkish audiobook service. [7] A year later, in 2019, it acquired Gummerus, Finland's oldest publishing house. [8]

In July 2020, Storytel acquired a 70 percent stake in Forlagið, an Icelandic publishing house. [9]

In November 2021, Storytel acquired Audiobooks.com from RBMedia for $135 million. [10] [11]

In February 2022, Jonas Tellander stepped down as the CEO for personal reasons and joined the board of directors. [12] In August 2022, Johannes Larcher, formerly an executive at HBO, was appointed as the new CEO. [13]

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References

  1. "Audiobook streamer Storytel sees pandemic spurring subscriber growth". Business Insider.
  2. "Storytel enters the U.S. with acquisition of Audiobooks.com". Reuters.
  3. "Sweden's Storytel Continues Its Global Expansion". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  4. "Sweden's Storytel to enter four new markets". Reuters. March 24, 2017 via Reuters.
  5. "Storytel køber bogtjenesten Mofibo | Mofibo". via.ritzau.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  6. "Storytel opkøber forlaget People's Press". mediawatch.dk (in Danish). 2017-03-02. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  7. "Türkiye, 19 ülke içinde en hızlı büyüyen oldu". Ekonomist (in Turkish). 2020-04-28. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  8. "Kirjojen suoratoistopalvelu Storytel ostaa Suomen kolmanneksi suurimman kustantamon Gummeruksen". Helsingin Sanomat. 2019-09-17. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  9. "Storytel Purchases Majority Share in Forlagið, Iceland's Largest Publisher". July 3, 2020.
  10. Ruth Comerford (November 13, 2021). "Storytel extends into English language market with $135m Audiobooks deal". The Bookseller . Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  11. Heloise Wood (April 11, 2017). "Newly formed RBmedia buys Audiobooks.com". The Bookseller. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  12. "Jonas Tellander to step down as Storytel CEO – search process for a new CEO initiated". Storytel. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  13. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/international/international-book-news/article/90204-sweden-s-storytel-appoints-hbo-exec-as-ceo.html