Carlsen Acquires Lappan

Book publisher Carlsen Verlag, part of German book group Bonnier Media Deutschland GmbH, has announced the acquisition of Lappan Verlag, effective retroactively to January 1, 2015.

Founded in 1983 by Dieter Schwalm and five associates, Lappan today is the leading German publisher of cartoon and humor books, including the work of Uli Stein, the most popular cartoonist in the German market, among others. With important cartoonists such as Joscha Sauer and Ralph Ruthe, Carlsen is very successful in this genre as well.

Lappan’s list will be combined with Carlsen’s cartoon and humor list, and together they will come out under the label Lappan. Publisher Schwalm will continue to be responsible for the development of content and products in the future. Carlsen will take charge of sales and distribution immediately.

“We are very happy about this merge,” says Joachim Kaufmann, Managing Director for Carlsen. “As the irrefutable market leader in the field of cartoons and humor titles, we can continuously push the development in a solid niche market.”

“We look forward to the extremely pleasing task of joining the potential of the two market leaders in humor books and cartoons, to develop the program and to create ideas and products for the future,” says Schwalm. “As one of the founders of Lappan, I’m proud that we’ll make it happen under this label, which is also the recognition of the excellent work done by a magnificent team over many years.”