Bending Spoons agrees to buy Eventbrite for $500M to revive stalled brand

In Brief

Bending Spoons, a institution that buys and revitalizes stagnating tech companies, has agreed to acquisition Eventbrite for astir $500 million, a acold outcry from the $1.76 billion the institution was worthy erstwhile it went nationalist successful 2018.

Just similar galore of Bending Spoons’ erstwhile acquisitions, including Evernote, Meetup, Vimeo, and AOL, Eventbrite has a beardown brand, but the company’s concern has stopped growing, according to audited financials.  

The events marketplace and ticketing institution was co-founded successful 2006 by the husband-and-wife team, Julia and Kevin Hartz, and Renaud Visage. During its 12 years arsenic a backstage business, the one-time tech darling raised approximately $330 million successful task superior from apical investors specified arsenic Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global Management.

Unlike accepted backstage equity firms, Bending Spoons buys companies that it intends to clasp forever, aiming to crook them profitable by cutting costs, raising prices, and introducing caller merchandise features. In October, Bending Spoons announced a monolithic $270 cardinal backing circular that valued the institution astatine $11 billion.

Besides Bending Spoons, different investors travel the strategy of acquiring, fixing, and holding stalled bundle firms, often referred to arsenic “venture zombie” companies. These firms see Constellation Software, Curious, Tiny, SaaS.group, Arising Ventures, and Calm Capital.

Andrew Dumont, the laminitis and CEO of Curious, told TechCrunch that the steadfast buys “great companies” astatine debased prices and rapidly revives them to execute 20% to 30% nett margins.

Audited yearly gross was level astatine astir $325 cardinal for some fiscal twelvemonth 2024 and fiscal twelvemonth 2023. Bending Spoons has agreed to wage astir 1.7 times Eventbrite’s trailing 12 months gross of $295 million. Despite this seemingly debased gross multiple, Eventbrite stockholders volition person $4.50 successful currency per share, an 81% premium implicit the erstwhile day’s $2.48 closing price.

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