Bending Spoons agreed to buy AOL for $1.5bn and is rebuilding it on its platform, with AOL still serving millions of very active users.
Luca Ferrari says price wins most deals, and the promise never to sell acquired companies is the second reason founders pick Bending Spoons.
Francesco Patarnello says the 2019 Grindr pursuit, which collapsed in early 2020, would now equal a $20bn acquisition, and he is glad it did not happen.
Bending Spoons Keeps Buying Big Brands and Promises Never to Sell
Bending Spoons has become a serial buyer of well-known software brands by pairing competitive prices with a promise to own them permanently. Its edge is an operating platform and a small-team culture that keeps talent, with churn under 1%, and lets it rebuild acquired products such as AOL. Leadership describes a company that is scaling its deal size while still running on meritocracy and ownership.
Takeaways
Price wins deals; permanent ownership is the tiebreaker. Luca Ferrari says price decides most acquisitions. The second reason founders choose Bending Spoons is its promise never to sell what it buys. Francesco Patarnello contrasts this with private equity, which typically keeps founders for three to five years.
Acquisitions are getting larger and more frequent. Recent deals include Vimeo at $1.3bn, Eventbrite at $500m, Airtable at $1.25bn and AOL at $1.5bn. Patarnello says the company wants a few deals every year, each bigger than the last, with no single vertical focus.
Targets need unlockable potential, scale and predictability. Patarnello's criteria are businesses whose potential the Bending Spoons platform can unlock, large revenue, and predictable results. AOL fits. Jerusalmi says it was healthy when bought and still has millions of active, engaged users.
Financing grew from small loans to institutional capital. The first loan, about $12m, came at the end of 2017. Little primary equity was raised before 2023, when Cox Enterprises joined the first big institutional round. Term loans with US lenders followed in early 2025.
Meritocracy applies even to the CEO's seat. Matteo Danieli says every position should go to the best fit. He stepped down as Chief Product Officer so product manager Lorenzo could take over. Each December Ferrari asks trusted people whether someone else could do his job.
Small high-ownership teams are the operating model. Danieli describes startup mode as a small team with fluid roles, ownership and intense work. Product teams are about 40% engineers, and Jerusalmi says every release is A/B tested and shipped only on clear KPI success.
Retention is built on liquidity and promotion from within. The company runs secondary tenders so staff can sell shares and recently dropped vesting. Patarnello credits yearly churn below 1% to culture and to hiring young talent who develop inside the company.
The Grindr deal that collapsed
In 2019 Bending Spoons pursued Grindr for nine months, in a deal Patarnello says equals about a $20bn acquisition today.
The company had $500m fully committed without having raised it.
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On this episode 5
Show 1
Talks collapsed in early 2020 when another party offered slightly more.
Patarnello says he is now glad the deal did not happen.