Abacus will exploit the historic brand Eumo Editorial

BarcelonaThe imprint linked to the University of Vic, Eumo Editorial, will become part of Abacus Futur, the second largest publishing group in Catalan, which already manages about fifteen imprints such as Ara Llibres, Viena, Navona, Arcàdia, La Casa dels Clàssics, Univers, and La Galera. According to what ARA has learned, the Balmes University Foundation, which is the owner of the publishing house (and also of the University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia), has sought a way out to ensure the continuity of the company. "Abacus is the partner that best fits the brand," say sources from UVic-UCC. The agreement still has to pass through the foundation's governing body, but the operation is closed, to the point that the editors of both houses are already working side by side.

The form this agreement will take is defined as a "brand exploitation." "No commercial transaction is contemplated," say sources from UVic-UCC. For now, they will continue to be the majority partner with 70% of the shares, but everything points to it being the first step towards the absorption of the publishing house by Abacus. In practical terms, in fact, Eumo becomes part of the non-fiction area of Abacus Futur, although it "will continue to be an imprint with its own personality and editorial line," assures another of the agents involved, who speaks of the need to redefine Eumo's personality and focus its themes. Abacus's current philosophy is to publish fewer titles and ensure they have the maximum number of readers. The editor Montse Ayats will continue to direct Eumo and will also take charge of some non-fiction titles for Ara Llibres, a division directed by Joan Carles Girbés. Ayats and Girbés coincided at the head of La Setmana del Llibre en Català in 2020.

The Abacus group, which at the beginning of this year announced a record turnover of 143 million euros in 2025, had already made explicit its intention to buy more publishing imprints, following the sector's trend towards editorial concentration. Eumo is going through a complex financial situation, with accumulated losses, and the three agents in the operation see it as a way out to guarantee Eumo's viability and for the imprint to continue to exist.

A benchmark in education

Eumo Editorial is a label with nearly half a century of history and a benchmark in the educational field. It was founded in 1979, two years after the creation of the University School for Teachers of Osona, which would be the embryo of the University of Vic. In 2011, Eumo already had to look for partners to improve its production and distribution, and finally it was Grup 62 that entered the publishing house by purchasing 50% of it. Shortly after, however, in 2013, Planeta took control of Grup 62 and Eumo saw how its project became blurred within the publishing giant. For this reason, in 2015, the Fundació Universitària Balmes recovered 50% of the shares to regain its editorial direction and a new travel partner of similar size and philosophy was sought to share logistics. At the end of that year, they sold 30% of the shares to the company Nou Grup Editorial which was formed by the Tarragona label Cossetània and the Manresa-based Angle (today grouped under the platform La Finestra Lectora with Bindi Books and Capital Books). The post-crisis years saw Eumo go through a restructuring process that reduced its staff from eleven people to two, a dimension it now maintains with Montse Ayats in management, Gemma Medina in editing, and Iris Llop in communication.

Eumo was born as a label linked to the UVic that wanted to serve as a stimulus and a means of disseminating research. It has several collections of university textbooks, books on didactics, translation, pedagogy, and school materials, in addition to publishing the poetry magazine Reduccions. In recent years, it has also opened up to non-fiction for all audiences, with a very solid catalog focused on literary essays on history, education, philosophy, language, and contemporary debate. Since 1998, it has been directed by Montse Ayats, who has also been president of the Association of Publishers in the Catalan Language (2016-2021), contributed to the current success of La Setmana del Llibre en Català (2013-2015), and directed the National Plan for Books and Reading (2022-2025).

For its part, Abacus Futur, the publishing branch of the Abacus cooperative, is the result of the sum of the Som/Cultura 03 imprints (Ara Llibres, Amsterdam, La Casa dels Clàssics-Bernat Metge and Inuk) and those of Jaume Roures (Navona and Arcàdia), and the joint purchase in 2024 of part of the Enciclopèdia imprints after it went bankrupt (Viena, Univers, La Galera, Elastic Books, Rata, Bridge, Catedral, Ediciones Invisibles). At that time, they estimated their market share in Catalan in Catalonia at 8%, as the second largest publishing group in Catalan in the country.