Frankfurt, October 15, 2008

Bonnier Publishing appoints John Owen as Group Publisher

Des Higgins, CEO of Bonnier Publishing, part of Bonnier Books, announced the appointment today of John Owen as Group Publisher.   Bonnier Publishing now comprises nine companies based in the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand and France, employs more than 250 people worldwide and has annual revenues of over US$120 million.

Bonnier Publishing comprises nine companies including the Weldon Owen group in the USA, Australia and New Zealand, The Five Mile Press and Brimax in Australia, Autumn Publishing in the UK, Piccolia in France and Templar Publishing in the UK which was acquired in September 2008.  Annual revenues in Bonnier Publishing are over $120 million.

John Owen co-founded the Weldon Owen publishing group in 1985 and remained its primary owner until 2006 when he sold the company to Bonnier Publishing remaining as Chairman and CEO of the company.

In announcing Owen's appointment Des Higgins, CEO of Bonnier Publishing, said,  “Bonnier Publishing is growing rapidly. With a presence in every major continent we see tremendous opportunity for our companies to cooperate more to realize our full potential as a group. I'm delighted to appoint John Owen as group publisher. John's role is not to replace the outstanding and talented people who run our companies but to help identify global opportunities where our individual companies can work together. John is well suited to this task having lived and worked in publishing in Europe, Asia, Australia and America in his 35-year career. He has done a super job in integrating Weldon Owen into the Bonnier family yet retaining the independence and creativity of each company."

Comments John Owen, "The last few years since Bonnier acquired us have been surprisingly satisfying and great fun. Bonnier has been a sensitive owner, very encouraging and supportive and with a publisher's understanding of the problems and realities we face. As a result I think Weldon Owen's integration into the Bonnier group has gone amazingly well. I'm flattered and excited that Bonnier have offered me this new role and see huge opportunities to work within the rapidly growing  group.

Continues Des Higgins, "John will remain on the Board of the Weldon Owen companies which will continue to be run by their CEOs - Sheena Coupe in Australia, and Terry Newell in the USA, who will report to me. The inclusion of John in the Bonnier Publishing senior management team will enlarge our capacity to look at expansion opportunities for the group".

The Bonnier Books business area is part of Bonnier AB which had revenues of US4.5 billion in 2007. Bonnier Books had annual sales of US$900 million.