The company raised $1.68 billion in the offering, a successful exit for major backers including Baillie Gifford, Renaissance Partners, and Fidelity. Bending Spoons maintains a distinct business model: it acquires aging tech brands such as Evernote, Vimeo, and Meetup, then restores profitability through aggressive cost-cutting and pricing adjustments. Unlike traditional private equity firms that aim for a quick resale, the company intends to hold its portfolio of assets indefinitely.
In section Startups & Technology
Bending Spoons defies market skepticism with 40% IPO surge
Shares of Milan-based Bending Spoons climbed 40% during their market debut on Wednesday, closing at $40.50. The jump defied a broader cooling trend in the software-as-a-service sector, pushing the 13-year-old firm to a market capitalization of $25.7 billion, more than double its previous $11 billion private valuation.
Financial disclosures highlight a sharp reversal in performance. For the first quarter, the firm reported $601 million in revenue and $27.4 million in net income, a stark improvement from the $112 million loss recorded during the same period last year. This strategy of revitalizing "venture zombie" companies places Bending Spoons alongside firms like Constellation Software and Tiny, though its focus remains heavily anchored in subscription models, which accounted for 84% of its business last year. The IPO marks a significant liquidity event for co-founders Luca Ferrari, Francesco Patarnello, Matteo Danieli, Luca Querella, and Tomasz Greber.
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