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The Sellers: Who Lets These Businesses GoNarrow moat

Bending Spoons (BSP) — moat facet

Bending Spoons buys from owners who have run out of patience, which makes other people's disappointment the raw material of its growth.

The supply side of this model is other people's decisions to stop. The prospectus names no seller, and third-party accounts attribute Splice to GoPro and AOL to Yahoo1; the filing itself describes the 2024 Mosaic and Apalon purchase as certain assets from IAC Inc.2. AOL reached Bending Spoons from Verizon Media Group, sold on 1 September 2021 to College Parent, L.P., a vehicle formed that year by affiliates of funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management to acquire it3. So the seller on the largest purchase to date was itself a financial owner four years into holding the asset4.

Prices paid in 2026 ($M)1,454AOL1,285Airtable1,355Miro781Tractive, at closing505EventbriteForm 424B4 Note 5 and the 2026 releases; Airtable and Miro are enterprise values
Five deals in one year, all larger than Evernote.

The sellers are therefore corporate parents and funds with something they no longer want: a portal business inside a telecoms company, a video platform inside a public company, a weather and translation app portfolio inside a conglomerate. What they share is that the asset had stopped being strategic for its owner, which is precisely the condition Bending Spoons screens for when it looks for significant room for improvement5.

The company is candid that the supply is partly a function of other people's difficulties, and it names the current source. Many businesses within its addressable market lack the foundations required to fully capitalize on AI6, exposing them to a heightened risk of disruption, and that could increase certain owners' willingness to sell, and contribute to lower valuation levels7.

Luca Ferrari put the valuation side of it bluntly: most enterprise SaaS businesses were valued at irrationally high levels until somewhat recently8, and the company never saw those prices making any sense. CNBC reports that Airtable was bought at almost 90% below the company's peak valuation from late 20219.

Two of the sellers were European founders rather than corporate parents, which is a different negotiation. komoot GmbH is German and tractive GmbH is Austrian, founded in 20121011, and both were bought as going concerns rather than carve-outs. Tractive also brought the first deferred payment in the company's history, $115 million payable a year after closing12, where every earlier deal was settled fully in cash13.

The sellers are the one competitor Bending Spoons needs to be numerous. Cash paid for acquisitions was $2,286.259 million in the first half of 202614; if the supply of disappointed owners thins while that spending continues, the prices will rise before the deal count falls.

Moat trajectory: Widening

Software valuations fell; the company names AI as a reason owners will sell.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Cash paid for acquisitions, half year
$2,286.3M in H1 2026

The rate at which supply is being consumed; continued spending into thinner supply raises prices.

Source: Bending Spoons Q2 2026 financial statements ↗
References
  1. Third-party estimateThe prospectus names no seller, and third-party accounts attribute Splice to GoPro and AOL to Yahoo; the filing itself describes the 2024 Mosaic and Apalon purchase as certain assets from IAC Inc..
    Wikipedia, Bending Spoons - third-party account of the sellers of the pre-2023 businesses, the Harvest repricing reported by Bloomberg News in August 2026, the Playond subscription controversy and the Immuni contact-tracing app. — 2018-2026 · publ. October 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedThe prospectus names no seller, and third-party accounts attribute Splice to GoPro and AOL to Yahoo; the filing itself describes the 2024 Mosaic and Apalon purchase as certain assets from IAC Inc..
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - Note 5 business combinations, the acquisition history and the pro-forma financial information. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedAOL reached Bending Spoons from Verizon Media Group, sold on 1 September 2021 to College Parent, L.P., a vehicle formed that year by affiliates of funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management to acquire it.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - Note 5 business combinations, the acquisition history and the pro-forma financial information. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedSo the seller on the largest purchase to date was itself a financial owner four years into holding the asset.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - the audited consolidated financial statements, the Q1 2026 interim and the MD&A on results of operations and tax. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedWhat they share is that the asset had stopped being strategic for its owner, which is precisely the condition Bending Spoons screens for when it looks for significant room for improvement.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - the letter from the team and the Business section on the Playbook, return hurdles and acquisition criteria. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedMany businesses within its addressable market lack the foundations required to fully capitalize on AI, exposing them to a heightened risk of disruption, and that could increase certain owners' willingness to sell, and contribute to lower valuation levels.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - the letter from the team and the Business section on capital allocation, holding period and addressable market. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedMany businesses within its addressable market lack the foundations required to fully capitalize on AI, exposing them to a heightened risk of disruption, and that could increase certain owners' willingness to sell, and contribute to lower valuation levels.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - the letter from the team and the Business section on capital allocation, holding period and addressable market. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedLuca Ferrari put the valuation side of it bluntly: most enterprise SaaS businesses were valued at irrationally high levels until somewhat recently, and the company never saw those prices making any sense.
    CNBC, Bending Spoons wants to revive software castoffs, and Berkshire is investing - the company's statement that it had not been outbid for a target in several years, the comparison with Thoma Bravo and Vista Equity Partners, Luca Ferrari on enterprise software valuations and on the share of revenue from professional businesses, the Evernote price history and Mizuho's and Nick Mehta's comments. — October 2026 · publ. 17 October 2026 · source ↗
  9. ReportedCNBC reports that Airtable was bought at almost 90% below the company's peak valuation from late 2021.
    CNBC, Bending Spoons wants to revive software castoffs, and Berkshire is investing - the company's statement that it had not been outbid for a target in several years, the comparison with Thoma Bravo and Vista Equity Partners, Luca Ferrari on enterprise software valuations and on the share of revenue from professional businesses, the Evernote price history and Mizuho's and Nick Mehta's comments. — October 2026 · publ. 17 October 2026 · source ↗
  10. Reportedkomoot GmbH is German and tractive GmbH is Austrian, founded in 2012, and both were bought as going concerns rather than carve-outs.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - Note 5 business combinations, the acquisition history and the pro-forma financial information. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  11. Reportedkomoot GmbH is German and tractive GmbH is Austrian, founded in 2012, and both were bought as going concerns rather than carve-outs.
    Bending Spoons second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 6-K exhibit 99.1 - organic revenue growth, non-GAAP measures, net debt and leverage, the business transformations and guidance for the third quarter and the full year. — Q2 2026 · publ. 13 August 2026 · source ↗
  12. ReportedTractive also brought the first deferred payment in the company's history, $115 million payable a year after closing, where every earlier deal was settled fully in cash.
    Bending Spoons second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 6-K exhibit 99.1 - organic revenue growth, non-GAAP measures, net debt and leverage, the business transformations and guidance for the third quarter and the full year. — Q2 2026 · publ. 13 August 2026 · source ↗
  13. ReportedTractive also brought the first deferred payment in the company's history, $115 million payable a year after closing, where every earlier deal was settled fully in cash.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - the audited consolidated financial statements, the Q1 2026 interim and the MD&A on results of operations and tax. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  14. ReportedCash paid for acquisitions was $2,286.259 million in the first half of 2026; if the supply of disappointed owners thins while that spending continues, the prices will rise before the deal count falls.
    Bending Spoons unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarter and half-year ended 30 June 2026, Form 6-K exhibit 99.2 - income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, revenue disaggregation, debt note, segment note and the initial-public-offering note. — Q2 2026 · publ. 13 August 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated October 20, 2026