Bending Spoons raises $1.68 billion in Nasdaq IPO

Trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "BSP" is expected to begin immediately after the offering is completed. It is one of the largest IPOs of a European company in recent years. The IPO comes at a time when the US market for new issues is recovering after a longer period of weakness. "Vor allem Technologieunternehmen wagen angesichts einer verbesserten Marktstimmung und des anhaltenden Interesses an Künstlicher Intelligenz wieder den Schritt an die Börse", observers write.

One of the largest European IPOs in recent years

The syndicate banks for the IPO include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Allen & Company. They accompanied the issuance, which according to company information was significantly oversubscribed. "Dass der Ausgabepreis höher liegt, zeigt, dass das Interesse bei Investoren an Bending-Spoons-Aktien hoch ist", according to market sources.

Bending Spoons was founded in 2013 in Milan by CEO Luca Ferrari and co-founders. "Das in Mailand etablierte Unternehmen" specializes in acquiring and modernizing struggling software companies. Ferrari describes the business model as a mix of a private-equity firm and a technology conglomerate. Specifically, he said: „Unsere Idee ist es, eine Mischung aus einer Private-Equity-Firma und Google zu sein."

Business model: acquire, modernize, hold

According to the company, the business strategy follows a three-step plan: acquisition, transformation, and reinvestment. „Das Unternehmen verfolgt eine Strategie, angeschlagene Softwarefirmen zu übernehmen, technologisch zu modernisieren und langfristig im Konzern zu halten", the company explains. During the transformation phase, the group implements workforce adjustments to reduce operating costs and adjusts pricing models to increase revenue.

Notable acquisitions in recent years include the notes app Evernote, the file-transfer platform WeTransfer, the video platform Vimeo, the streaming-technology provider Brightcove, the social network Meetup, and the internet portal AOL. Zu den bekanntesten Übernahmen der vergangenen Jahre zählen die Notiz-App Evernote, die Dateitransfer-Plattform WeTransfer, die Videoplattform Vimeo, der Streaming-Technologieanbieter Brightcove, das soziale Netzwerk Meetup sowie das Internetportal AOL.

Notable acquisitions from Evernote to AOL

According to the company, acquired companies are not resold. „Nach Unternehmensangaben werden die übernommenen Firmen nicht weiterverkauft", the company emphasizes. However, the acquisitions have repeatedly been accompanied by extensive restructurings and job cuts. „Die Übernahmen gingen allerdings mehrfach mit umfangreichen Restrukturierungen und Stellenabbau einher", observers acknowledge.

In March, Bending Spoons acquired the Upper Austrian company Tractive, based in Pasching. According to the listing documents, the purchase price was around $900 million. Just a few months after the acquisition, more than half of Tractive's workforce was laid off. These measures often come with quality losses, and previously free features are reduced, leading to frustration among long-time users.

Tractive acquisition and layoffs

The company's growth has been rapid in recent years. According to the figures, the number of monthly users of the company's services rose from 111 million to 500 million between December 2023 and March 2026. Over the same period, the number of paying customers rose from approximately three million to approximately nine million.

For the first quarter of 2026, the company reported a net profit of $27.5 million on revenue of $601 million. „Für das erste Quartal 2026 wies das Unternehmen einen Nettogewinn von 27,5 Millionen US-Dollar bei einem Umsatz von 601 Millionen US-Dollar aus", according to the documents. The company is thus considered profitable.

Growth in users and customers

In the most recent funding round in 2025, the company had still been valued at approximately $11 billion. „Bei der jüngsten Finanzierungsrunde im Jahr 2025 war das Unternehmen noch mit rund 11 Mrd. Dollar bewertet worden". The IPO thus marked a significant increase in valuation. The company's market value now stands at approximately $18.4 billion.

Since November of the previous year, Bending Spoons has invested approximately four billion US dollars in targeted acquisitions. The company maintains, according to its own statements, a list of more than 1,000 potential acquisition targets. Artificial intelligence is a central component of the group's product development strategy.

Valuation rises significantly

Bending Spoons' internal team of engineers is known by the nickname "Spooners." Bending Spoons' business model is based on buying software companies, restructuring them, and continuing to operate them with an adjusted pricing model. According to the company, acquired companies are not resold.

In its IPO documents, the company also points to risks. „So führt das bestehende Geschäftsmodell beispielsweise zu der Schwierigkeit, attraktive Akquisitionsziele zu finden und erfolgreich in das Portfolio einzugliedern". The availability of qualified personnel in a competitive market also poses a potential issue. Nevertheless, the IPO is regarded as a vote of confidence from investors in the Milan-based business model.

Risks according to IPO documents

Bending Spoons' portfolio now includes AOL, Vimeo, Evernote, Eventbrite, WeTransfer, and Brightcove. „Evernote, Komoot und Vimeo" are among the group's most well-known apps. With the fresh capital from the IPO, the company is expected to continue its acquisition strategy.

The proceeds from the IPO give the company additional room for further acquisitions and investments in the modernization of its software products. Industry observers see the listing as a signal for a broader renaissance of European technology companies in US markets.