Bonnier Group: chronology

Chronology

This chronology is indicative only. It covers -

• antecedents (1801)
• beginnings (1834)
• expansion outside publishing (1937)
• into film, out of Grafoprint (1973)
• restructuring (1994)

Context is provided by the broader communications and media timeline on this site.

Antecedents

1801 Gutkind Hirschel moves to Copenhagen from Dresden, changes name to Gerard (later Gerhard) Bonnier

1804 opens bookshop in Copenhagen

1816 founds daily newspaper Dagsposten

1827 son Adolf opens bookshop in Gothenburg

1832 Adolf opens shop in Stockholm

subsection heading icon beginnings

1834 Adolf founds publishing house

1837 Adolf's brother Albert founds publishing house, Albert Bonnier Forlag

1837 publishes Bevis att Napoleon aldrig har existerat ('Proof that Napoleon has never existed')

1856 buys Hörbergska Tryckas

1859 brother David Felix starts Göteborgs-Posten daily newspaper

1859 launch of Sveriges Handelskalender

1864 David Felix sells Göteborgs-Posten

1864 Albert buys David Felix's Göteborg shop

1864 Rudolf Wall launches Stockholm daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter with Bonnier support

1877 Albert Bonnier's publishing house publishes Från Fjerdingen till Svartbäck, its first Strindberg title

1888 Albert Bonnier buys his first share in Stockholm daily Dagens Nyheter

1892 children's newspaper Kamratposten founded

1909 Karl-Otto Bonnier, Albert's son, gains control of Dagens Nyheter

1912 Bonnier opens bookshop in New York

1923 weekly magazine Bonniers Veckotidning founded

1929 launches Hemma magazine

1924 Bonniers acquires majority of Dagens Nyheter

1928 starts educational publishing house in partnership with Norstedts

1929 buys Sweden's largest magazine publishing house, Åhlén & Åkerlund

1930 buys J P Åhléns tidskrifter (magazine publishers) and Folkskolans Barntidning (Junior School Magazine)

1935 weekly magazine Vecko-Revyn launched

Expansion outside publishing

1937 buys Alga, the first company outside the media sphere

1943 Tammi publishing founded in Finland

1944 launches the evening paper Expressen

1946 Bonniers starts Grafisk Färg and Solna Offset

1946 launch of the magazine Året Runt

1949 Dagens Nyheter buys Billingsfors paper mill, forming basis for paper manufacturer Duni

1950 Semic, publisher of comics, founded

1952 extended Bonnier family consolidates media and industrial interests in Bonnierföretagen

1952 family disputes result in Dagens Nyheter being spun off under control of Kaj Bonnier

1959 partnership with Danish newspaper group Fogtdal

1961 launch of Specialtidningsförlaget

1965 launch of weekly business magazine Veckans Affärer

1969 Bonniers buys 49% stake in Danish newspaper group A/S Forlaget Børsen

subsection heading icon film and Grafoprint

1973 Dagens Nyheter buys Svensk Filmindustri film production and distribution company

1976 Dagens Industri business daily launched

1976 buys French publisher Editions La Croix (renamed Publications Bonnier)

1977 family consolidates many industrial operations (under Duni, , and Billingsfors, Duni and Solna banners) into Grafoprint

1977 Grafoprint floated

1983 Dagens Nyheter sells Svensk Filmindustri to Bonnierföretagen Group

1984 Bonnierföretagen Group buys Europa Film

1984 launch of general-reader science magazine Illustrerad Vetenskap

1986 Dagens Nyheter newspaper group floated as Tidnings AB Marieberg

1987 Bonner buys Norwegian book publisher Cappelens

1988 Å&Å-Tryck and Rotogravyr printers merged to form Interprint

1988 Bonnier launches pay tv channel SF SuccZ in partnership with Canal+ and Time-Warner

1989 SuccZ merged with TV1000 channel; Bonnier later sells out

1990 Bonnier buys Scandinavian Music Club

1990 Bonniers Affärsinformation launches joint venture with German publisher Hoppenstedt - business information publishing group Hoppenstedt Bonnier

1990 sale of Solna Offset printers

1991 buys Swedish publisher Trevi

1993 Bonnier Carlsen, largest publisher of children's literature in the Nordic countries, launched

Restructuring

1994 Marieberg acquires daily paper Sydsvenska Dagbladet

1994 Bonnierförlagen buys German publishing house Piper

1995 Dagens Industri launches Wirtschaftsblatt in Austria

1995 launch of women's weekly Amelia

1996 buys Tammi book publishing group

1996 buys Kirjakanava, Finland's third largest publisher

1997 Bonnier family sells major property holdings

1997 Bonnier family private company absorbs Marieberg (vehicle for Dagens Nyheter, Expressen and Sydsvenska Dagbladet) for SKr 5.4bn

1997 takes stake in Finnish Alma Media group, later increased to 33%

1998 Bonnier AB established as holding group

1999 Bonnier Litterära Magasin closes after 60 years

1999 SF Bio cinema chain expands into Norway

2000 buys German publisher Hoppenstedt

2000 buys German publisher arsEdition

2000 launches business am newspaper in UK

2001 buys 50% of Danish publisher Forlaget Benjamin

2001 sells 75% of Svar om Stockholm information service to Eniro

2001 buys German publisher Thienemann

2002 business am closed

2002 launches free daily commuter paper Metro

2003 merges Bonnier Radio AB with SBS to creates SBS Radio AB (51% owned by SBS, 49% by Bonnier)

2005 Bonnier and investment fund Proventus acquire Alma Media broadcast arm

2006 Bonnier pays up to US$90m for 49% stake in US magazine publisher World Publications (Saveur, Garden Design, Caribbean Travel & Life and Water Skiing)