Powerful Combination of Content Creation and Distribution Will Expand Both Companies' Capabilities

Ashton Kutcher Remains a Significant Shareholder and Chairman of A Plus

Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC and A Sharp Inc. (d/b/a A Plus) today announced that Chicken Soup for the Soul has acquired a majority of A Plus, the media company founded and chaired by actor and investor Ashton Kutcher. Mr. Kutcher will remain a significant shareholder of A Plus as well as its chairman.

A Plus specializes in positive journalism and tells stories that bring people together, inspiring change for the better. Its focus complements the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand, which is known for sharing stories that spread happiness, inspiration and hope.

A Plus is a social and mobile-first platform that uses proprietary technology to develop and distribute stories and articles to millions of people worldwide. The company delivers its content through a website and a mobile app, and has approximately 11.5 million unique monthly visitors with an average of 26 million page views per month. In August, A Plus had an additional 60 million video views. A Plus already has a proven track record of working with top brands to develop premium written and video content.

“A Plus and Chicken Soup for the Soul have the same mission—to entertain and enlighten by telling positive stories to inspire change,” said Ashton Kutcher, who will also become an investor in Chicken Soup for the Soul. “Our content creation and distribution capabilities combined with Chicken Soup for the Soul’s represents a big step forward for both companies.”

“The timing could not have been better for Chicken Soup for the Soul to add A Plus to our company,” said William J. Rouhana, Jr., chief executive officer of Chicken Soup for the Soul. “The acquisition of A Plus will infuse our brand with fresh perspective, give us a wonderful way to connect with people through the web and provide new expertise to continue to grow our reach and expand our content. We are already expanding in the video content business through Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment and we look forward to expanding our web efforts with A Plus while making a difference—changing the world one story at a time—together with Ashton and the entire A Plus team.”

The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

ABOUT CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL

Chicken Soup for the Soul, the world’s favorite and most recognized storyteller, publishes the famous Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. With well over 100 million books sold to date in the U.S. and Canada alone, more than 250 titles, and translations into more than 40 languages, “chicken soup for the soul” is one of the world’s best-known phrases and is regularly referenced in pop culture. Today, 23 years after it first began sharing happiness, inspiration and hope through its books, this socially conscious company continues to publish a new title a month, but has also evolved beyond the bookstore with super premium pet food, television shows and movies, podcasts, musical theater, and a variety of other digital content and licensed products, all based on true stories, as it continues “changing the world one story at a time®.”

ABOUT A PLUS

A Plus is a digital media company devoted to delivering positive journalism to its readers. Its growth to over 70 million monthly content views has been powered by a dynamic combination of proprietary technology and commitment to high-quality, empathetic storytelling. The organization aims to challenge the status quo in media by focusing its content mission on positivity and social change.