Storytel acquires Dutch publisher Overamstel for cash
What's the deal? Stockholm-based Storytel Group has acquired Overamstel PublishersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an independent Dutch publishing house with operations in the Netherlands and Belgium. Overamstel reported €17.4M in sales and €1.3M in adjusted EBITDA in 2025. The purchase price will be paid entirely in cash from Storytel's existing liquidity.
Founded in 2007, Overamstel runs a portfolio of imprints — including Lebowski, The House of Books, and Carrera Culinair — spanning fiction, non-fiction, and children's literature. Its catalogue features authors such as Annejet van der Zijl, Carry Slee, Agatha Christie, and Barack Obama.
Overamstel's chief executive Martijn Griffioen will stay on. Helena Gustafsson, Storytel's chief content and publishing officer, will chair Overamstel's board.
Why now? The Benelux region is one of Storytel's core markets, and the deal deepens its footprint there. Overamstel's revenues still skew heavily toward print — about 75% in 2025 — while digital formats made up roughly 25%. For a digital-first audiobook and e-book platform like Storytel, that print-heavy mix represents room to grow.
Storytel has been steadily assembling a portfolio of publishers, including Norstedts Publishing Group, Gummerus, People's, Storyside, and majority stakes in Lind & Co and Bokfabriken. Overamstel is the latest piece in that strategy.
What could go wrong? Integrating a print-dominant publisher into a digital-first group carries risks. Converting physical book buyers into streaming subscribers is far from guaranteed, and Overamstel's relatively thin margins — roughly 7.5% EBITDA — leave little cushion if the transition stumbles.
Storytel has pledged that Overamstel will "retain its distinct identity" as an independent publisher within the group. Maintaining that autonomy while extracting digital synergies is a delicate balance.
The signal: Storytel, classified as a late-growth company on Dealroom, is using its balance sheet to buy its way deeper into the publishing value chain rather than relying solely on licensing. Acquiring an early-growth publisher like Overamstel — whose revenues still lean 75% on print — is a bet that vertical integration and format conversion can unlock more value than third-party content deals, a playbook that mirrors moves by other subscription platforms looking to own, not just rent, their catalogues.
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