Digital magazine platform Readly is buying the French subscription media company Toutabo which operates the ePresse platform. France claims to be Europe’s largest magazine market and the deal adds 1,000 magazines and 300 newspapers from 280 publishers to Readly’s international portfolio.
Toutabo magazine titles include Paris Match, Society, Vogue and Cosmopolitan along with news titles Les Echos and Le Journal de Dimanche. The company reported revenues of €6.6m in 2020 with a gross margin of 35%. The deal is worth a potential €8.2m comprising an initial €3.9m consideration and a €4.3m earnout.
The acquisition will strengthen Readly’s European market leadership, with a total offering of 6,000 magazines and newspapers from more than 1,000 publishers. Readly’s journey in France is expected to benefit from the combination of Toutabo’s leading position, local expertise and strong relationship with publishers and commercial partners, and Readly’s technology, product development and global reach.
Readly CEO Maria Hedengren said this week: “Entering the French market has been a strategic priority for some time. Through the acquisition, we establish a leading position in France overnight with a local team, strong relationships with publishers and great commercial partners. With leading positions in the major European markets, we are well positioned for continued growth and expansion.”
In July this year, Readly announced the signing-up of the UK’s largest magazine, Radio Times.
Readly gives digital subscribers unlimited access to all its national and international magazines – all in one app and at a fixed monthly fee. The Sweden-based company, which has subscribers in 50 countries and content available in 17 different languages, says: “In collaboration with around 900 publishers worldwide, Readly is digitizing the magazine industry.”
In 2020, Readly AB revenue totalled SEK 353m. The company IPOd on Nasdaq Stockholm Midcap in September 2020 and has a market cap of some SEK1.1bn
