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.
Its stock was indicated to open at $33, giving the Milan-based company a potential valuation of roughly $21 billion.
The listing will test investor appetite for software companies after the industry was hammered earlier this year by fears that AI could disrupt established business models.
Software companies have been largely absent from the U.S. IPO market 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," said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs.
"Bending Spoons has a very different profile compared to most software IPOs in the pipeline."
Its playbook, a hybrid between private equity and a tech company, focuses on buying and revamping digital businesses by cutting staff and overhauling technology.
The company's acquisitions since 2025 include video platform Vimeo, internet brand AOL and ticketing marketplace Eventbrite.
Bending Spoons and selling shareholders sold 58 million shares at $29, above the marketed range of $26 to $28.
The offering saw strong demand from both existing and new investors, reinforcing a bullish view of the U.S. IPO market, said a banker at one of the lead bookrunners, who declined to be named.
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.
"Bending Spoons isn't really a software holding company. It's a high-conviction venture bet wearing a holding company's clothes. They've proven they can pull off brutal, high-speed corporate turnarounds with staggering engineering efficiency," said Tim Schumacher, founder of tech company saas.group, which acquires and grows founder-led SaaS businesses.
"The real test is whether an emotionless, debt-fueled software factory can survive a full economic cycle - not just a strong few years on a friendly macro tailwind."
Bending Spoons has grown through over 50 acquisitions and more are likely to follow. It has identified more than 1,000 potential acquisition targets, according to its filings.
Unlike private equity, Bending Spoons does not sell the acquired businesses.
"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.
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru and Elvira Pollina in Milan; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
