PRH Acquires the UK’s Wonderbly

Today (June 4), Nihar Malaviya, CEO of Penguin Random House; Paul Kelly, CEO of DK; and Asi Sharabi, CEO of Wonderbly have announced the acquisition by PRH of Sharabi’s Wonderbly, an independent publishing house in the United Kingdom long admired for its work in children’s books and particularly in the personalized-books category for youngsters.

Not unlike Dominique Raccah’s personalized books for kids at Sourcebooks—and her company’s autonomy while PRH holds a majority share, as well—Wonderbly and the persistent Sharabi have gained quite a lot of appreciation and high regard in the close-knit British book market, both for effective, attractive output, and for Sharabi’s faithful persistence in growing his company.

Per today’s statements, Wonderbly is to continue to operate independently as part of Penguin Random House, maintaining its entrepreneurial culture, brand identity, and leadership team. Asi Sharabi, the 12-year-old Wonderbly’s co-founding CEO, will remain in his role and continue to lead the business from its London headquarters.

No changes are planned to Wonderbly’s locations as a result of the transaction. Together, according to today’s messaging to the news media, the two companies “will collaborate on a range of new initiatives and publishing ventures designed at accelerating growth, expanding reach, and attracting new audiences.

Founded in 2013, Wonderbly has pioneered a D2C publishing model that blends proprietary technology with best-in-class creative, marketing, and print-on-demand production capabilities.

With a catalogue said to carry more than 150 personalized children’s and adult titles, Wonderbly has sold more than 11 million books into at least 140 countries.

The company was named Children’s Publisher at the 2021 British Book Awards and was shortlisted for both Children’s Publisher and Publisher of the Year at the 2025 edition of the British Book Awards, presented last month.

In 2021, the company was acquired by the private equity firm Graphite Capital and expanded its adult gifting portfolio with the acquisition of Historic Newspapers—a publisher of bespoke historical newspaper compilations, in 2023. Wonderbly is also a “certified B” corporation, reflecting its “commitment to social and environmental performance, accountability, and
transparency.”

PRH’s Malaviya has spoken forthrightly in the Publishing Perspectives‘ Forum’s CEO Talks at Frankfurter Buchmesse (October 15 to 19) about his concept of growing Penguin Random House through targeted acquisitions. In his comments on the Wonderbly news today, he says, “Asi and the Wonderbly team have built a remarkable company at the intersection of storytelling, technology, and thoughtful gifting.”

Malaviya speaks of looking forward to the chance “to support their continued growth and to learn from their dynamic, customer-centric approach.”

The resourceful Paul Kelly at DK is reported to have been “instrumental in bringing this transaction to life” and now says, “I’ve long admired what Asi and his team at Wonderbly have created. … How they’ve redefined storytime for millions of children around the world is truly inspiring. …”

Talking of  supporting Wonderbly’s “expansion into new genres and publishing models, and helping grow their already impressive international reach,” Kelly goes on to say, “By combining the strengths of DK and Penguin Random House with Wonderbly’s exceptional direct-to-consumer capabilities, I’m confident we’ll reach even more audiences and create even more booklovers than before.”

Sharabi, in his own comments today, says, “Wonderbly has been one of the most wondrous adventures; built by an extraordinary team, powered by passionate customers, and fueled by a shared belief in the power of books to spark joy and human connection. …

“As we join Penguin Random House, we’re stepping into an exciting new chapter—one that gives us the platform to dream bigger, reach further, and create even more meaningful connections for and between readers everywhere.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. LionTree Advisors acted as exclusive financial adviser to Wonderbly on the deal.