The archive · Consumer Apps · Financial decision · 2025-2026
Bending Spoons' Nasdaq IPO: public money to keep buying and fixing apps
The Milan app acquirer listed on Nasdaq in July 2026, raised about $1.68B including sellers, and closed day one up ~40% at roughly $25B.
Bending Spoons
What the business is
A Milan-based technology company that buys digital businesses — Evernote, Remini, WeTransfer, Vimeo, Eventbrite and AOL among more than 50 acquisitions — then restructures them, often cutting teams and moving users onto subscriptions, and says it has never sold a material business.
Starting capital：The July 2026 IPO priced about 58 million shares at $29, raising roughly $1.68B including selling shareholders, of which approximately $954M in gross proceeds went to Bending Spoons itself.
How it started
Founded in Milan in 2013 by Luca Ferrari and co-founders with the $40,000 left after their failed diary app Evertale was liquidated, Bending Spoons built a playbook of acquiring underperforming apps and transforming them. By 2025 its portfolio included Evernote, Remini, WeTransfer, Vimeo, Brightcove, Eventbrite, StreamYard and AOL.
What happened
After a decade of private acquisitions — an October 2025 round led by T. Rowe Price accounts valued the company near $11B — Bending Spoons went public. Its offering of about 58 million shares priced at $29, above the marketed $26–28 range, and trading began on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on 1 July 2026 under the ticker BSP, with Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Allen & Company leading the syndicate.
How it ended up
Public and still buying: shares opened at $31 and closed the first session at $40.50, up about 40%, for a market value of roughly $25B. As of September 2026 the stock traded near $40 with a market capitalisation of about $23.8B.
Background
Bending Spoons, founded in Milan in 2013 by CEO Luca Ferrari and co-founders, acquires digital businesses — among them Evernote, Remini, WeTransfer, Vimeo, Brightcove, Eventbrite and AOL — then restructures them with in-house technology, subscriptions and AI features. It says it has completed more than 50 acquisitions and has never sold a material business.
The bet was that public markets would fund that roll-up. On 1 July 2026 Bending Spoons listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under BSP, pricing about 58 million shares at $29 — above the marketed $26–28 range — in an offering that raised roughly $1.68B including selling shareholders, of which about $954M in gross proceeds went to the company.
The debut validated the story: shares opened at $31, ran as high as $43.98 and closed at $40.50, up about 40%, giving the company a market value near $25B — versus an $18.4B offer-price valuation and the roughly $11B private round led by T. Rowe Price accounts in October 2025.
The company raised to keep buying, not to deleverage: total borrowings exceed $4B, and Ferrari said Bending Spoons had identified more than 1,000 digital businesses as potential acquisition targets. Four co-founders retained more than 82% of voting power after the offering.
What has to be true
- The model had produced numbers public investors could price: 2025 revenue of $1.31B, up 95% year over year, and Q1 2026 revenue up 132% to $601M with a swing to net profit.
- Proceeds were for growth, not survival: the company said it would use the IPO money for general corporate purposes and new acquisitions rather than paying down its $4B+ borrowings.
- Bending Spoons claims it has never sold a material business, which turns a roll-up into a compounder — a promise private-equity buyers, who exit, cannot make to their investors.
- Pricing above range showed scarcity value: 2026 had seen few software IPOs, and an oversubscribed book let Bending Spoons set $29 against the $26–28 range and still pop 40% on day one.
What can be applied
A private roll-up can go public without changing its playbook: Bending Spoons raised $954M to buy more, not to pay down debt, and investors paid up 40% on day one.
Aftermath
As of September 2026 Bending Spoons trades near $40 with a market capitalisation of about $23.8B and trailing revenue near $2.04B. The debut funded the model: proceeds were earmarked for new acquisitions, with 1,000+ digital businesses named as targets. The playbook drew criticism too — Vimeo, bought for $1.38B in November 2025, cut 1,000+ jobs in January 2026 — and Bending Spoons disclosed material weaknesses in its financial controls. Co-founders still hold over 82% of voting power: the public company remains a concentrated bet on one operating style.
Sources
- Bending Spoons S.p.A. announces closing of initial public offering
- Vimeo and FiLMiC Pro Owner Bending Spoons Surges in $1.68 Billion Nasdaq IPO Debut
- Bending Spoons surges nearly 40% in US market debut
- Bending Spoons (BSP) Stock Price & Overview
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