BackBonnier Ventures 2019
Investments that make Bonnier broader
Bonnier’s venture capital business is operated from the Stockholm tech scene. Bonnier Ventures invests in fast-growing tech companies with international ambitions.
Stockholm has long been a hub for startups and tech companies. Per capita, only Silicon Valley has more so-called unicorns – startups worth over a billion U.S. dollars. Stockholm is a leading ecosystem for identifying and developing startups and tech companies.
Given Bonnier’s historical roots and role in Stockholm’s communities, being part of this scene comes naturally to the company. The venture capital business has been operated through Bonnier Ventures since 2014. From the start, the investments have had a return of more than 20 percent per year. Today, the portfolio consists of 17 companies. The companies’ total value exceeds SEK 7 billion, of which Bonnier Ventures’ shares are worth over 700 million SEK.
Bonnier Ventures’ investments are of a purely financial nature, and at the same time an important strategy in Bonnier’s desire to expand future ownership by entering new industries and markets. Although the investments are made without connection to other Bonnier companies, they have the potential to contribute to the ecosystem that all Bonnier companies share. Two new investments in 2019 illustrate this:
Kitab Sawti is the world’s largest Arabic audiobook company with over 2,000 audiobooks and more than one million registered users in a market of 400 million potential users. If Kitab Sawti reaches 6 percent of that market, which corresponds to today’s audiobook circulation in Sweden, that means 24 million paying users.
Finnish startup SULAPAC develops a patented material that can replace plastic in packaging of everything from cosmetics and food to gift boxes. The material has all the advantages of plastic but is completely degradable after use.
The sale of Bonnier Broadcasting enables Ventures to increase its investments to over SEK 200 million per year in digital growth companies, compared with SEK 100 million in previous years. The ambition is also to broaden perspectives outside of the Nordic region, to make larger investments and continue working with successful companies over time.
Bonnier Ventures
The Venture Capital portfolio consists of 17 companies. In addition to these, the Real Agency Group (the Spoon Group) is also part of Bonnier Ventures.
Invested capital: 500 SEK M
Realized capital: 204 SEK M
Portfolio value: 742 SEK M
Gross IRR: 22%
Chairman of the Board: Jens Müffelmann
CEO: Ulrika Saxon
Current investments
ABIOS GAMING offers statistics and content in e-sports to a variety of industries and companies.
ACAST is a global technology and advertising platform for podcasts, with approximately 150 million listening occasions each month.
ALL EARS is a B2B provider in media coverage of audio channels such as podcasts, radio, YouTube, TV and social media videos.
BLOK is an estate agency disruptor based in Helsinki. The company applies technology that helps the user to manage all stages of a home sale.
DOKTOR.SE was founded in 2016 and is already Sweden’s second-largest and fastest-growing digital healthcare provider.
HEJA is a sports team and communications app for coaches, managers, parents and players, with a majority of its users in the U.S.
KITAB SAWTI acquires rights and produces and distributes audiobooks in Arabic. Today it is the world’s largest Arabic audiobook platform.
LAVENDLA is a funeral agency disruptor that offers a wide range of online funeral services under brand names Lavendla and Wilja.
NATURAL CYCLES is a digital fertility app that starts with the woman’s body temperature. The app has spread globally and is regulated in
Europe (CE) and the U.S. (FDA).
PAMONO is a fast-growing online marketplace based in Berlin that connects individual antique shops and designers with interior design customers on the global market.
PILLOXA has developed a digital platform that effectively assists pharmaceutical companies with clinical trials of new drugs in different patient groups.
REAL AGENCY GROUP is a network of communication agencies consisting of Spoon, The Domain Was Taken, Oh My, Trickle, KIT, Spoon Inhouse, StoryCo and InFunnel.
REFUNDER is Sweden’s leading cash-back site. The shopping site gives online customers money back every time they make a purchase.
RESOLUTION GAMES is a virtual gaming studio focused on accessible and fun games in VR and AR formats, with production for the major global platforms.
STORYKIT is an SaaS (software as a service) facility for content production that effectively helps clients tell their story in their own and social channels.
SULAPAC provides a biodegradable alternative to plastic, made entirely from renewable sources and certified wood, to be used as packaging material on the global market.
WOSHAPP is an environmentally friendly car wash platform that challenges the European car wash market.