Bending Spoons targets $19B valuation in Nasdaq IPO up to $1.62B
▼ Summary
– Bending Spoons is pricing its US IPO at $26 to $28 per share, aiming to raise up to $1.62 billion at a roughly $19 billion valuation, with an early-July debut on the Nasdaq under the ticker BSP.
– The company, founded in Milan in 2013, grows by acquiring underperforming digital products, cutting costs, and rebuilding them, a strategy resembling private equity.
– Its portfolio includes Vimeo, WeTransfer, AOL, Eventbrite, and Evernote, with acquisitions often followed by staff cuts of 70% or more.
– Annual revenue surged from $387 million in 2023 to $1.31 billion in 2025, an 84% compound annual growth rate, and the company turned profitable in Q1 2026 with $28 million net income.
– The IPO is one of the largest by a European company this year, highlighting the trend of European tech firms choosing US exchanges for deeper capital and higher valuations.
Bending Spoons, the Italian software company known for acquiring and restructuring digital businesses, is targeting a valuation of approximately $19 billion in its upcoming U.S. initial public offering, aiming to raise up to $1.62 billion. The company plans to price 58 million shares between $26 and $28 each, with a debut on the Nasdaq under the ticker BSP expected in early July, according to a Reuters report on Monday.
At the top end of the pricing range, Bending Spoons would achieve a significant valuation leap from its $11 billion pre-money valuation secured in late 2025, when it raised $710 million in a funding round backed by T. Rowe Price, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity, and Durable Capital Partners. Roughly 60 percent of the IPO shares will come from the company as primary stock, while the remainder will be sold by existing shareholders, including Baillie Gifford. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Allen & Co are leading the offering.
This listing is poised to be one of the largest European IPOs this year and a rare public market test for a major software firm, especially as artificial intelligence reshapes the sector. BNP Paribas recently argued that a wave of U. S. mega-IPOs from companies like SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic would pull European tech firms toward public markets, and Bending Spoons now stands as the most prominent example of that shift.
Founded in Milan in 2013 by CEO Luca Ferrari and four co-founders with just $40,000 in seed capital, Bending Spoons has grown through an aggressive acquisition strategy that resembles private equity more than traditional software development. The company buys established but underperforming digital products, slashes costs, rebuilds the technology, and runs them at scale. Its portfolio now includes video platform Vimeo (acquired for $1.38 billion last year), file-sharing service WeTransfer, internet brand AOL, ticketing marketplace Eventbrite, note-taking app Evernote, outdoor navigation tool Komoot, and pet tracker Tractive. These acquisitions are routinely followed by deep staff cuts, with layoffs often exceeding 70 percent of headcount.
The strategy has driven rapid revenue growth. Annual revenue jumped from $387 million in 2023 to $671 million in 2024, and reached $1,310 million in 2025, a compound annual growth rate of 84 percent. First-quarter 2026 results showed the model turning profitable, with net income of roughly $28 million on revenue of $601 million, compared to a net loss of $112 million on revenue of $259 million in the same period a year earlier.
The IPO arrives in a U. S. market that has regained momentum after a prolonged slowdown. Companies have raised a combined $150 billion through 179 U. S. IPOs so far this year, the strongest start since 2021, according to Dealogic. Record-breaking debuts from SpaceX and Cerebras Systems earlier this month have reflected renewed appetite for high-profile technology offerings.
For European tech, the Bending Spoons listing underscores a persistent pattern: the continent’s largest technology companies still choose U. S. exchanges for deeper capital pools and richer valuations. Ferrari’s stake in the company is now reportedly worth $1.4 billion, a fortune built almost entirely on a playbook that did not exist in European venture capital a decade ago.
(Source: The Next Web)
