Berling Media AB

What Berling Media AB does

Berling Media AB is a privately held Swedish publishing conglomerate headquartered in Stockholm with a secondary office in Malmö, operating three wholly-owned subsidiaries across distinct institutional verticals. Gleerups Utbildning is the group's market-leading educational publisher, developing digital and printed learning materials for Swedish K-12 schools and course literature for universities and higher education, with content produced in close collaboration with teachers and students. Gothia Kompetens delivers research-based professional development and workplace training programs for employees in Swedish preschools, schools, healthcare, and elderly care sectors, functioning as a B2B/B2G training provider. Verbum provides media products and services to Swedish church congregations — including books, newspapers (Kyrkans Tidning), digital solutions (Votum Media), and consulting — and is partly owned by Svenska kyrkan, Equmeniakyrkan, and Svenska kyrkans arbetsgivarorganisation, embedding the subsidiary within its own customer base.

The group employs approximately 130 people and reaches customers through a direct institutional sales force targeting schools, universities, public-sector employers, and church congregations, complemented by subsidiary-owned e-commerce sites (gleerups.se, verbum.se, gothiakompetens.se). Revenue mechanics mix recurring digital subscription revenue from Gleerups, project-based professional services revenue from Gothia Kompetens, and recurring subscription and media revenue from Verbum. Pricing is not publicly disclosed across any subsidiary. Underlying technology is not specified in available sources; the product surface is primarily content, training programs, and media rather than software platforms. The company adopted a formal group-wide AI policy in October 2025 and a sustainability policy/report in 2025, signaling governance maturation, though no AI-native products, proprietary models, or technology platform details are disclosed. Berling Media AB is incorporated as a private limited company in Sweden with no parent company or external institutional investors disclosed.

Name

Berling Media AB

Legal name

Berling Media AB

Website

https://berlingmedia.se

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Berling Media AB is a Swedish publishing conglomerate operating three subsidiaries: Gleerups Utbildning (K-12 and higher-education materials), Gothia Kompetens (public-sector professional development), and Verbum (church media and services for Swedish congregations).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Institutional & Custom Publishing (Coursepacks, Campus/Corporate Training) (MPAJABAL)

Keywords

• Educational publishing
• Learning materials
• Professional development
• Church media services
• Course literature

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Educational Materials: Gleerups develops and sells textbooks, digital learning materials for K-12 schools, and course literature for universities and colleges. Revenue generated through direct sales to educational institutions and consumers.
2. Professional Development: Gothia Kompetens offers research-based professional development services for employees in preschool, school, healthcare, and elderly care sectors. Delivered as training programs and courses.
3. Church Media and Services: Verbum provides religious media including books, newspapers, digital services, and consulting for church congregations. Includes Kyrkans Tidning (Church Newspaper) and Votum Media. Owned partly by Swedish Church, Equmeniakyrkan, and Svenska kyrkans arbetsgivarorganisation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Berling Media AB is a Swedish publishing conglomerate operating through three wholly-owned subsidiaries: Gleerups Utbildning, which develops and sells digital and printed learning materials for K-12 schools plus course literature for universities and higher education; Gothia Kompetens, which delivers research-based professional development training for employees in preschools, schools, healthcare, and elderly care; and Verbum, which supplies books, newspapers, digital services, and consulting for Swedish church congregations.

Product overview

Berling Media AB is a publishing conglomerate operating three distinct subsidiary brands: Gleerups is a market-leading educational publisher for K-12 schools and higher education; Verbum provides church-focused media, publishing, and consulting services for congregations; and Gothia Kompetens delivers research-based professional development for preschool, school, healthcare, and social care sectors. The company employs approximately 130 people with offices in Stockholm and Malmö.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Gleerups: Educational materials and course literature provider, market leader in digital educational materials in Sweden
• Gothia Kompetens
• Verbum
• Kyrkans Tidning
• Votum Media

Products and services

• Gleerups Educational Materials Market-leading publisher of digital and printed learning materials for Swedish primary and secondary schools, and course literature for universities and higher education institutions. Materials are developed in close collaboration with teachers and students to support successful learning.
• Gothia Kompetens Professional Development Research-based workplace training and competence development programs for employees in Swedish preschools, schools, healthcare, and social/elderly care organizations. Designed to combine research-based methods with practical experience.
• Verbum Church Media and Services Media products and services for Swedish church congregations, including books, newspapers (Kyrkans Tidning), digital solutions, and consulting services. Includes Votum Media entity. Co-owned by Svenska kyrkan, Equmeniakyrkan, and Svenska kyrkans arbetsgivarorganisation.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Svenska kyrkancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSvenska kyrkan (Swedish Church) is a co-owner of Verbum, one of Berling Media's subsidiaries. This ownership relationship provides deep church market integration and understanding of congregational needs.
• EqumeniakyrkancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEqumeniakyrkan (Uniting Church in Sweden) is a co-owner of Verbum, providing strong ties to this church denomination for product development and market access.
• Svenska kyrkans arbetsgivarorganisationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwedish Church Employers' Organization is a co-owner of Verbum, strengthening the connection to church sector HR and organizational needs.

Scale indicators3 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Bonnier: One of the largest Nordic media conglomerates with book publishing, news, and adjacent media businesses; comparable to Berling Media as a diversified Swedish publishing group, though operating at significantly larger scale.
• Wiley: Global publisher with significant higher-education course content and professional development offerings, comparable to Gleerups' higher-ed course literature and Gothia Kompetens' professional development verticals.
• Pearson: Global education publisher and learning services company with K-12 and higher-education courseware; comparable to Gleerups at the product category level though operating internationally at a vastly larger scale.

Direct peers

• Studentlitteratur: Swedish educational publisher focused on textbooks and course literature for universities and higher education, directly competing with Gleerups' higher-education course literature line in the Swedish market.
• Natur & Kultur: Swedish publishing house with a strong educational materials and reference book portfolio, overlapping with Gleerups in K-12 learning content and with broader cultural publishing similar to Berling Media's conglomerate model.
• Liber: Major Swedish educational publisher providing digital and printed learning materials for K-12 schools; directly competes head-to-head with Gleerups across Swedish primary and secondary education.

Regional players

• Cappelen Damm: Norwegian educational and trade publisher offering K-12 learning materials and course literature; comparable to Gleerups in product mix though serving the Norwegian rather than Swedish market.
• Norstedts: Long-standing Swedish general trade and reference book publisher, comparable to the Berling Media conglomerate heritage though with less direct overlap in K-12 educational materials.
• Gyldendal: Norwegian/Danish publisher with educational and trade book divisions, structurally comparable to Berling Media's multi-segment publishing model though operating primarily in adjacent Nordic markets.
• Sanoma: Finnish-based Nordic media and learning company whose Sanoma Learning division offers educational materials across the Nordics, competing with Gleerups in the broader Nordic K-12 digital materials space.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Berling Media AB