Vimeo owner Bending Spoons heads for US market debut after $1.68 billion IPO

July 1 (Reuters) - Bending Spoons is acceptable for its U.S. marketplace debut aboriginal connected Wednesday aft the Italian exertion institution priced its archetypal nationalist offering supra ‌the scope to rise $1.68 billion.

The listing volition trial capitalist appetite for bundle companies aft ‌the manufacture was hammered earlier this twelvemonth implicit fears that AI could disrupt established concern models.

Software companies person been ​largely absent from the U.S. IPO marketplace truthful acold successful 2026, adjacent arsenic a dependable travel of ample deals and SpaceX's blockbuster listing pushed second-quarter proceeds past a record-breaking $100 billion.

"It'll decidedly beryllium a information constituent for the bundle industry, but that whitethorn simply beryllium owed to the scarcity ‌of deals here. Bending Spoons ⁠has a precise antithetic illustration compared to astir bundle IPOs successful the pipeline," said Matt Kennedy, elder strategist astatine Renaissance Capital, a supplier of ⁠IPO-focused probe and ETFs.

Bending Spoons' playbook, a hybrid betwixt backstage equity and a tech company, focuses connected buying and revamping integer businesses by cutting unit and overhauling technology.

Its acquisitions since 2025 see streaming ​platform Brightcove, ​video level Vimeo, net marque AOL and ticketing ​marketplace Eventbrite.

The Milan-based institution and selling ‌shareholders sold 58 cardinal shares astatine $29 apiece, supra the marketed scope of $26 to $28. The IPO valued Bending Spoons astatine $18.4 cardinal based connected outstanding shares disclosed successful its filings.

SERIAL ACQUIRER

Bending Spoons, whose sanction is inspired by a country successful the science-fiction movie "The Matrix," roseate from the ashes of failed diary app Evertale successful 2013.

The $40,000 near aft Evertale's liquidation was utilized by CEO Luca ‌Ferrari and co-founders to commencement Bending Spoons. It has ​since go 1 of Europe's astir salient exertion companies.

The ​company has grown done implicit 50 acquisitions ​and much are apt to follow. Bending Spoons has identified much than ‌1,000 integer businesses that could beryllium charismatic ​acquisition targets successful the ​future, according to its IPO prospectus.

"It's an absorbing story, and they've done a bully occupation creating a cohesive communicative astir owning much than 50 businesses. The 'fix it with ​AI' transportation makes consciousness successful ‌theory, though we would person liked to spot a longer way record," Kennedy ​said.

Unlike backstage equity, Bending Spoons does not merchantability the acquired businesses.

(Reporting by Arasu ​Kannagi Basil successful Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)