Bending Spoons, a company known for acquiring and revitalizing stagnant tech companies, has recently announced its acquisition of Eventbrite for approximately $500 million. This deal marks a significant decrease from the $1.76 billion valuation that Eventbrite had when it went public back in 2018.
Similar to its previous acquisitions such as Evernote, Meetup, Vimeo, and AOL, Eventbrite, despite having a strong brand, has experienced a slowdown in its business growth according to audited financial reports.
Founded in 2006 by Julia and Kevin Hartz, along with Renaud Visage, Eventbrite raised around $330 million in venture capital during its 12 years as a private company. The company, which operates in the events marketplace and ticketing industry, attracted investments from top firms like Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global Management.
Unlike traditional private equity firms, Bending Spoons has a unique approach of acquiring companies with the intention of holding onto them indefinitely. Their strategy involves making these companies profitable by implementing cost-cutting measures, increasing prices, and introducing new product features. In a recent funding round in October, Bending Spoons secured $270 million, valuing the company at $11 billion.
Apart from Bending Spoons, other investors are also following a similar strategy of acquiring and reviving stalled software firms, often referred to as “venture zombie” companies. Some of these firms include Constellation Software, Curious, Tiny, SaaS.group, Arising Ventures, and Calm Capital.
Andrew Dumont, the CEO of Curious, highlighted their approach of acquiring undervalued companies and quickly turning them around to achieve profit margins of 20% to 30%.
Despite Eventbrite’s flat audited annual revenue of around $325 million for fiscal year 2024 and fiscal year 2023, Bending Spoons has agreed to acquire the company at approximately 1.7 times its trailing twelve months revenue of $295 million. Shareholders of Eventbrite will receive a premium of 81% over the previous day’s closing price, with each share valued at $4.50 in cash.
The tech industry continues to witness these strategic acquisitions and revitalizations, showcasing the potential for growth and innovation within the sector.
