Wonderbly acquires Historic Newspapers in move to grow adult gift book offering

Personalised publishing company Wonderbly, which was awarded Publisher of the Year at the 2021 British Book Awards, has acquired Historic Newspapers, a business owning a private collection of more than two million original British newspapers dating back 120 years. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

According to the publisher, the strategic acquisition marks "a significant milestone in Wonderbly’s growth and expansion efforts into adult gift publishing". Since partnering with private equity firm Graphite Capital in 2021, Wonderbly has also acquired The Book of Everyone, which is now available on its website.

Historic Newspapers operates in the UK and USA and was previously part of Signature Gifts Ltd. The majority of revenue comes from personalised books that are made with content from original copies of British and American newspapers. By integrating Historic Newspapers’ collection of authentic newspapers, Wonderbly aims to offer customers the opportunity to explore historical events through personalised publishing.

Asi Sharabi, c.e.o. of Wonderbly, said: "We are thrilled to welcome Historic Newspapers into the Wonderbly family. We want to be able to offer unique personalisation for every age, occasion and relationship and this acquisition represents a perfect synergy of our commitment to deliver exceptional personalised books and gifts that make people of all ages feel loved, valued and seen.”

As part of the acquisition, Historic Newspapers will continue to operate under its existing brand name, with the goal of "preserving its legacy" while also benefiting from the resources and support of Wonderbly’s global presence. Robert May, previously c.c.o. at Wonderbly, will become m.d. of Historic Newspapers.

May said: "We are very excited to become the custodians of this incredibly unique archive of newspapers. The business is seeing significant growth in the USA, and we look forward to adding new partnerships with key newspapers and creating more unique books. We are equally excited to now serve the loyal Wonderbly customers with the Historic Newspapers brand offering and vice versa.”

Sharabi added: "The team is taking the idea of personalised books for grown-ups in many exciting and innovative ways. We are redefining book-gifting and personalisation in print by giving gifters creative superpowers to personalise the content and design of these books in ways never before seen."