- Bending Spoons Acquires Eventbrite for $500 Million to Restart Its Operations
- The purchase price reflects the sharp decline following Eventbrite's 2018 IPO.
- Eventbrite shareholders receive $4.50 per share, representing an 81% premium immediately.
Bending Spoons has agreed to acquire Eventbrite for about $500 million, another addition to its portfolio of well-known but stalled software companies.
The purchase price is much lower than Eventbrite's $1.76 billion valuation at its 2018 IPO, reflecting years of stagnant revenue and slowing growth.
The company intends to revive the brand by implementing operational changes similar to previous acquisitions, which include Evernote, Meetup, Vimeo and AOL.
Transaction terms and impact on investors
Audited financial statements show that Eventbrite's annual revenue remained flat at approximately $325 million in both fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
Such stable performance required intervention to restore Eventbrite's growth trajectory.
The agreement gives Eventbrite shareholders $4.50 per share in cash, representing an 81 percent premium to the previous day's closing price of $2.48.
Bending Spoons values ​​Eventbrite at approximately 1.7 times its trailing twelve-month revenue of $295 million.
While this ratio appears low compared to acquisitions of high-growth technology companies, its structure reflects the company's intent to focus on profitability rather than rapid expansion.
Eventbrite shareholders receive immediate profits, while Bending Spoons positions itself to manage long-term operations without the pressure of external exits or short-term investment horizons.
Bending Spoons follows a pattern of acquiring companies with strong brands but stagnant business performance.
Unlike traditional private equity firms, the company plans to hold Eventbrite indefinitely.
The project aims to improve profitability by improving operational efficiency, reducing costs, adjusting prices and improving product features.
This strategy mirrors approaches taken by other investors in similar “venture zombie” companies.
Examples include Constellation Software, Curious, Tiny, SaaS.group, Arising Ventures and Calm Capital.
Such firms buy companies at low prices and quickly adjust them to achieve profit margins of 20 to 30 percent, according to Andrew Dumont, founder of Curious.
Eventbrite's history as a private company includes raising approximately $330 million in venture capital from leading investors such as Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global Management.
Bending Spoons' recent $270 million funding round valued the company at $11 billion, giving it significant capital resources to support acquisitions.
Eventbrite's established presence in the event and ticket market gives Bending Spoons a brand to leverage.
The company plans to implement operational changes, including cost management, pricing strategies and product improvements, to improve productivity.
However, it remains unclear how quickly these measures can achieve meaningful results, given the difficulty of reviving stagnant businesses.
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