Bending Spoons: The Company That Acquired Eventbrite
▼ Summary
– Bending Spoons, a Milan-based tech conglomerate, acquired Eventbrite for $500 million, adding it to a portfolio that includes brands like Evernote, WeTransfer, and Meetup.
– The company specializes in acquiring underperforming but popular tech brands and actively transforms them, often through restructuring, layoffs, and product changes.
– Despite its portfolio serving over a billion people, Bending Spoons itself remains largely unknown to the general public, operating differently from traditional private equity by aiming to hold acquired businesses forever.
– In October 2025, Bending Spoons became a decacorn valued at over $11 billion following a $270 million funding round, making its co-founders billionaires.
– The company plans to continue its acquisition strategy, with pending deals for AOL and Vimeo, supported by significant new funding and debt financing.
The recent acquisition of Eventbrite for $500 million by Bending Spoons has thrust the Milan-based tech conglomerate into the spotlight. This move adds the prominent event ticketing platform to an already impressive portfolio that includes names like Evernote, Meetup, and WeTransfer. While the company itself remains relatively obscure to the general public, its strategy of acquiring and revitalizing well-known digital brands has made it a significant, if quiet, force in the technology sector.
Bending Spoons operates with a distinct philosophy. It is not a traditional private equity firm but rather a company focused on long-term transformation. The company seeks out popular digital products that have become stagnant or underperform their potential. After an acquisition, Bending Spoons actively overhauls every aspect of the business, from the user experience and underlying technology to monetization strategies and team structure. This hands-on approach often involves controversial changes, including significant layoffs and alterations to free service tiers, as seen with past acquisitions. Despite this, the firm emphasizes it aims to hold its acquisitions indefinitely, building a living portfolio rather than flipping assets.
The company’s origins trace back to the founders of a failed startup called Evertale. After that venture ended, the team began developing in-house apps before pivoting to an acquisition model. Their first purchase set the stage for a rapid expansion. Recent years have seen a dramatic acceleration in deal-making. Major acquisitions include the note-taking app Evernote, the video streaming platform Brightcove, and the file-sharing service WeTransfer. In 2025 alone, the company announced intentions to acquire Vimeo for $1.38 billion and AOL from Yahoo, alongside the purchase of route planner Komoot and the recent Eventbrite deal.
Financially, Bending Spoons has reached a formidable scale. A $270 million funding round in late 2025, coupled with a large secondary share sale, propelled its valuation to over $11 billion, earning it decacorn status in Europe. This financial muscle is supported by an array of high-profile investors, including financial giants like Fidelity and T. Rowe Price, as well as celebrities from the tech and entertainment worlds. The fresh capital, along with substantial debt financing, is earmarked for further acquisitions and investment in proprietary AI technology.
Looking ahead, Bending Spoons shows no signs of slowing its acquisition pace. The company explicitly states its intent to continue expanding its portfolio of consumer and enterprise digital products. Targets like AOL and Vimeo represent a shift toward even more recognizable brands with extensive existing user bases. To support this growth, the company is actively hiring, attracting hundreds of thousands of applications despite describing its culture as demanding. With substantial funding in place and a proven methodology, Bending Spoons is poised to reshape even more corners of the digital landscape in the coming years.
(Source: TechCrunch)
