Bending Spoons IPO asks for suspended disbelief

About this update from Bending Spoons S.p.a.

By Jennifer Johnson Buying into an initial public offering in the summer of 2026 requires a certain amount of faith. Elon Musk asked SpaceX NASDAQ:SPCX investors to back his dreams of orbital data centres and a colony on Mars. Bending Spoons, which filed for a Nasdaq listing earlier this month, looks humble by comparison. All the Milan-based company has to do is convince money managers that its formula for buying and reviving tired tech assets can be repeated – and that this trick merits a premium valuation. Founded in 2013, Bending Spoons has assembled a portfolio that includes file-sharing service WeTransfer and video platform Vimeo. Its approach largely mirrors that of a buyout shop: acquire an overlooked asset, cut excess costs and revamp the product or service. Unlike his private equity rivals, though, CEO Luca Ferrari has never sold a portfolio company. Growth at Bending Spoons therefore depends on further acquisitions. That puts pressure on the company to ensure it has plenty of potential targets in its sights – and the capital to get hold of them. That's where a stock market listing comes in. Bending Spoons' $1.5 billion acquisition of AOL, completed in January, showed Ferrari's expanding ambitions, and his eye for a bargain. According to the company's IPO filing, the faded titan of dial-up internet booked a hefty $334 million operating profit on sales of just $633 million last year. Add in roughly $60 million in depreciation and amortisation expenses, and Bending Spoons bought AOL for just 4 times EBITDA. The challenge will be persuading investors that Bending Spoons deserves a much richer multiple. Earlier this week, the group confirmed it will market shares at between $26 and $28 apiece. Sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that would give it a valuation of $19 billion at the top end of the range. Throw in debt on its balance sheet as of March 31, deduct IPO proceeds of up to $950 million, and the group's enterprise value will be close to $22 billion. Last November, Ferrari told Reuters that the company expects to bring in $1.4 billion in adjusted EBITDA this year, implying a multiple over 15 times. That's not only much loftier than recent purchases, but also a notch above the valuations of firms that do a similar thing. According to a VisibleAlpha poll of analysts, Constellation Software TSX:CSU and Roper Technologies NASDAQ:ROP , both serial acquirers of business software groups, trade on 12 and 13 times expected EBITDA for this year, respectively. Those stocks have been caught up in the so-called SaaSpocalypse, in which fears of AI disruption prompted investors to dump software firms. Bending Spoons' collection of once-fashionable tech brands may have a longer shelf life. Even then, however, Ferrari needs to keep finding diamonds in the rough – and acquiring them at attractive prices. He claims to have identified more than 1,000 potential targets. Convincing shareholders this is a skill worth paying up for will require mind-bending powers of persuasion. Follow Jennifer Johnson on Bluesky and LinkedIn. CONTEXT NEWS Milan-headquartered tech group Bending Spoons filed for a Nasdaq IPO on June 8. The company confirmed on June 23 that it plans to market 58 million shares at between $26 and $28 apiece, raising up to $1.62 billion. The company will sell 34 million new shares, with the rest sold by existing shareholders. Sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters the group could be valued at up to $19 billion at the top end of the range. Bending Spoons, whose portfolio includes video platform Vimeo and ticketing marketplace Eventbrite, was last valued at $11 billion in an October 2025 funding round.

View stock analysis, news, and events for Bending Spoons S.p.a.