July 1 (Reuters) – Bending Spoons is set for its U.S. market debut later on Wednesday after the Italian technology company priced its initial public offering above the range to raise $1.68 billion.
The listing will test investor appetite for software companies after the industry was hammered earlier this year over fears that AI could disrupt established business models.
Software companies have been largely absent from the U.S. IPO market so far in 2026, even as a steady flow of large deals and SpaceX’s blockbuster listing pushed second-quarter proceeds past a record-breaking $100 billion.
“It’ll definitely be a data point for the software industry, but that may simply be due to the scarcity of deals here. Bending Spoons has a very different profile compared to most software IPOs in the pipeline,” said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs.
Bending Spoons’ playbook, a hybrid between private equity and a tech company, focuses on buying and revamping digital businesses by cutting staff and overhauling technology.
Its acquisitions since 2025 include streaming platform Brightcove, video platform Vimeo, internet brand AOL and ticketing marketplace Eventbrite.
The Milan-based company and selling shareholders sold 58 million shares at $29 apiece, above the marketed range of $26 to $28. The IPO valued Bending Spoons at $18.4 billion based on outstanding shares disclosed in its filings.
SERIAL ACQUIRER
Bending Spoons, whose name is inspired by a scene in the science-fiction film “The Matrix,” rose from the ashes of failed diary app Evertale in 2013.
The $40,000 left after Evertale’s liquidation was used by CEO Luca Ferrari and co-founders to start Bending Spoons. It has since become one of Europe’s most prominent technology companies.
The company has grown through over 50 acquisitions and more are likely to follow. Bending Spoons has identified more than 1,000 digital businesses that could be attractive acquisition targets in the future, according to its IPO prospectus.
“It’s an interesting story, and they’ve done a good job creating a cohesive narrative around owning more than 50 businesses. The ‘fix it with AI’ pitch makes sense in theory, though we would have liked to see a longer track record,” Kennedy said.
Unlike private equity, Bending Spoons does not sell the acquired businesses.
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
Comments