Berkshire just made a second bet on Bending Spoons
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) rarely needs to make headlines to move markets. A $330 million investment in a relatively young public company was enough to send Bending Spoons (NASDAQ: BSP) shares soaring roughly 42% on Wednesday.
The new investment brings Berkshire’s total commitment to $930 million, following an initial $600 million purchase during Bending Spoons’ July IPO. Berkshire will acquire another 10 million shares at $33 each, increasing its ownership to approximately 4% once the transaction closes.
The stock’s reaction says plenty about how investors view Berkshire’s endorsement.
For decades, Berkshire has built its reputation on disciplined capital allocation, buying businesses capable of generating strong returns and reinvesting that capital into future opportunities. Now, under CEO Greg Abel, the conglomerate is increasing its exposure to an Italian technology company applying a remarkably similar philosophy to the software industry.
Berkshire isn’t simply betting on another high-growth tech company. It’s backing a business built around acquiring other businesses.
The company behind AOL, Vimeo and Evernote
Founded in Milan in 2013, Bending Spoons has quietly assembled an impressive portfolio of recognizable technology brands.
Its holdings include AOL, Vimeo, Evernote, Eventbrite, WeTransfer and Brightcove, alongside several other software and digital subscription businesses. The company has also been expanding into enterprise software, including a planned $1.29 billion acquisition of Airtable.
Unlike traditional technology companies focused on developing one major product, Bending Spoons looks for established businesses it believes can operate more profitably under new ownership.
After acquiring a company, management typically restructures operations, modernizes software, improves pricing and reduces unnecessary expenses. Cash generated from those businesses can then help finance the next acquisition.
The strategy has produced some impressive numbers.
According to its second-quarter financial results, Bending Spoons reported:
- Revenue of $704 million, up 126% year over year
- Operating income of $240 million, up 139%
- Adjusted operating income of $381 million, up 150%
- 2026 revenue guidance of $2.78 billion to $2.82 billion
Much of that growth reflects acquisitions, but the expanding profitability is equally important to the company’s investment case.
For Berkshire, the appeal may lie in Bending Spoons’ ability to repeatedly acquire established businesses and improve their economics rather than rely on a single breakthrough product.
$330 million could be just the beginning
Bending Spoons has made no secret of its ambitions.
In its IPO filing, management identified more than 1,000 potential acquisition targets, representing approximately $400 billion in combined annual revenue.
Not every target will become an acquisition, but the scale of that opportunity helps explain why access to additional capital matters.
Berkshire’s $330 million investment gives management greater financial flexibility to pursue acquisitions while strengthening its relationship with one of the world’s most respected long-term investors.
It also arrives at an interesting moment for software valuations. As AI reshapes expectations for traditional software businesses, companies facing slower growth or operational challenges could become attractive acquisition targets. Bending Spoons may be positioned to benefit from that disruption as a buyer rather than simply defend against it.
Still, buying businesses is only half the challenge. Integrating them, retaining customers and generating attractive returns will determine whether the strategy works at a much larger scale. Bending Spoons also uses debt to finance acquisitions, making financial discipline especially important.
And after a 42% stock surge, investors are paying considerably more for the same underlying business than they were a day earlier.
Berkshire’s investment may be the strongest endorsement Bending Spoons has received since going public, but the more compelling story is what happens next.
With nearly $1 billion committed by Berkshire and a pipeline of potential acquisitions, Bending Spoons is attempting to build something unusual in technology: a long-term compounder powered by buying, improving and holding digital businesses.
Wednesday’s rally suggests Wall Street is becoming increasingly interested in that possibility.
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