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

Bending Spoons, a notable player in the tech industry known for revitalizing struggling companies, has reached an agreement to acquire Eventbrite for approximately $500 million. This figure represents a significant drop from Eventbrite's peak valuation of $1.76 billion when it debuted on the public market in 2018. Similar to its previous acquisitions, which include well-known names like Evernote, Meetup, Vimeo, and AOL, Bending Spoons sees potential in Eventbrite despite its stagnant growth. The audited financial records reveal that the ticketing and events platform, co-founded in 2006 by Julia and Kevin Hartz along with Renaud Visage, has not expanded its business recently. Having raised around $330 million in venture capital from prestigious investors such as Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global Management during its twelve years as a private entity, Eventbrite was once considered a tech darling. However, Bending Spoons has a unique approach compared to traditional private equity firms; it purchases companies with the intention of holding onto them indefinitely. The goal is to restore profitability through strategies like cost reductions, price increases, and the introduction of innovative product features. In a significant move earlier this October, Bending Spoons announced a substantial funding round of $270 million, which valued the company at an impressive $11 billion. The trend of acquiring and revitalizing underperforming software firms, often termed "venture zombie" companies, is gaining traction among investors, including Constellation Software and Calm Capital. Andrew Dumont, CEO of Curious, which employs a similar strategy, mentioned to TechCrunch that their firm acquires promising companies at competitive prices and swiftly enhances their profitability, aiming for margins of 20% to 30%. For Eventbrite, the financial outlook has shown stagnant annual revenue of approximately $325 million for the fiscal years 2023 and 2024. Bending Spoons' acquisition will see it pay about 1.7 times Eventbrite’s trailing twelve months revenue of $295 million. Eventbrite shareholders will benefit from this deal, receiving $4.50 per share in cash, reflecting an 81% premium over the previous closing price of $2.48.