US stocks: Vimeo owner Bending Spoons seeks $1.62 billion US IPO, sources say
Bending SpoonsCompany
Goldman SachsUnderwriter
JPMorgan ChaseUnderwriter
Allen & CompanyUnderwriter
Italian tech firm Bending Spoons, owner of Vimeo, is pursuing a Nasdaq IPO to raise up to $1.62 billion, which would value the company at about $19 billion.
Bending Spoons, the Italian technology group that owns Vimeo, is seeking to raise up to $1.62 billion in a U.S. initial public offering, targeting a valuation of roughly $19 billion. Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase and Allen & Co are leading the underwriting and the shares are slated to begin trading on Nasdaq in early July.
Deal Terms
The company plans to sell 58 million shares priced between $26 and $28 each. Approximately 60 % of the shares will be offered by Bending Spoons itself, while the balance will come from existing shareholders, notably Baillie Gifford. The underwriters will manage the allocation and pricing of the offering.
Background
Bending Spoons reported revenue of $601 million and net income of $27.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, a sharp turnaround from a $112.2 million loss a year earlier. The firm raised $710 million in a late‑2025 financing round that valued it at $11 billion, underscoring rapid growth after a series of high‑profile acquisitions, including Vimeo, WeTransfer, AOL and Eventbrite.
The IPO arrives as U.S. equity markets regain momentum after a slowdown, with recent high‑profile listings such as SpaceX and Cerebras Systems. If completed, Bending Spoons’ offering would rank among the largest IPOs by a European company this year and one of the few sizable public listings for a pure‑play software acquirer.
Analysts view the listing as a test of investor appetite for mature SaaS platforms that have expanded through bolt‑on acquisitions. The capital raise could fund further product development, deepen integration of its portfolio assets, and position the group for additional strategic purchases in the competitive digital‑media and file‑sharing markets.
Why It Matters
The influx of public‑market capital will give Bending Spoons the runway to accelerate integration of its portfolio, particularly Vimeo and WeTransfer, enabling cross‑selling opportunities and higher net‑revenue retention rates. Competitors such as Brightcove, Dropbox and other niche video‑hosting or file‑sharing firms may feel pressure as Bending Spoons leverages scale to negotiate better bandwidth and AI‑driven content‑delivery contracts.
For European SaaS operators, the IPO provides a high‑visibility precedent that a software‑acquisition model can attract deep U.S. investor interest. It may spur other privately held European tech groups to consider public listings as a path to fund larger‑scale M&A, potentially reshaping the competitive dynamics in vertical SaaS segments across the continent.
Key Points
- Bending Spoons aims to raise up to $1.62 billion in a Nasdaq IPO
- The offering would value the company at roughly $19 billion, about 31.5× its most recent revenue
- Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Allen & Co are leading the underwriting
- Around 60 % of the 58 million shares are to be sold by Bending Spoons, with the remainder from existing shareholders such as Baillie Gifford
- The firm posted $601 million revenue and $27.5 million net income for Q1 FY2026, reversing a $112.2 million loss a year earlier
Analysis
At a headline valuation of $19 billion, Bending Spoons trades at roughly 31.5 times its latest quarterly revenue, a multiple that sits above the median for mature SaaS firms but reflects the premium investors assign to a diversified portfolio of high‑growth digital assets. The IPO underscores a broader trend of software companies using public markets to fund aggressive acquisition strategies, a model that can accelerate ARR expansion and improve net‑revenue retention through cross‑product bundling. For operators, the deal highlights the importance of building a scalable GTM engine that can absorb bolt‑on businesses without diluting gross margins. Investors will likely scrutinize the company’s ability to sustain its revenue growth trajectory while integrating disparate brands, a challenge that will test management’s execution discipline. If Bending Spoons delivers on its growth roadmap, the listing could set a valuation benchmark for other European SaaS groups eyeing U.S. capital, potentially lifting sector multiples and encouraging a wave of similar listings.