Readly secures €15m in new funding, led by the Third Swedish National Pension Fund

Readly, the European category leader in digital magazine subscriptions, today announced that it has completed a €15 million investment round, led by the Third Swedish National Pension Fund (“AP3”).

Also participating were both new and existing investors, including Zouk Capital and Swedbank Robur, among others.

Since inception, Readly has pioneered the market for digital magazine subscriptions by providing its subscribers with unlimited access to local and international high-quality content from well-renowned publishers. With a presence in 8 key European countries and the US, Readly already generates more than two-thirds of its revenues outside Sweden, and the funds raised will predominantly be used to fuel continued expansion in current European markets.

Maria Hedengren, CEO of Readly, commented: “The magazine publishing industry is only just starting to move from offline to online, and we expect the digital penetration of magazines to reach that off other media verticals, such as music and film. Readly will continue to lead the digital magazine transformation, across Europe and beyond. For this next step of our growth journey, We are very glad to have the support of our existing investors and now also such an experienced investor as AP3 to support our continued expansion. This shows that we have managed to build confidence in the business model, team and the market”.

Readly’s pathway to growth has been fast. In March 2019 Readly was ranked in the top 200 overall and the second fastest growing company in Sweden in the ‘Financial Times 1000 Fastest Growing Companies in Europe’. In May 2019 Readly launched its service in Italy and further strengthening the content portfolio, which now includes over 4000 titles.

ABG Sundal Collier acted as financial adviser and Sole Global Coordinator in the transaction and Baker McKenzie as legal adviser.