Bending Spoons moves to acquire Eventbrite in $500M deal

Eventbrite is set to be acquired by Bending Spoons in an all-cash transaction valued at roughly $500 million, marking a significant shift for the long-running events platform as it prepares to leave the public markets. The agreement, announced this week, positions Eventbrite to become one of the latest established tech brands absorbed into Bending Spoons’ growing portfolio of underperforming but well-known digital businesses.

Founded in 2006, Eventbrite expanded into a global marketplace for live experiences, distributing more than 83 million paid tickets in 2024. Despite the brand’s reach, audited financials show the company’s growth had stalled in recent years, with annual revenue holding flat at around $325 million. Bending Spoons agreed to pay approximately 1.7 times Eventbrite’s trailing 12 months’ revenue of $295 million.

Under the terms of the deal, Eventbrite shareholders will receive $4.50 per share in cash—an 81–82% premium compared to recent trading levels. The company’s board unanimously approved the proposal, which still requires regulatory clearance and approval from shareholders. If completed as expected in the first half of 2026, Eventbrite will become a privately held company and its stock will be delisted.

Bending Spoons, headquartered in Europe, has spent recent years acquiring recognizable but stagnating digital properties, including Evernote, Meetup, Vimeo, and WeTransfer. Its strategy centers on long-term ownership, cost restructuring, and product modernization. The firm recently raised $270 million at an $11 billion valuation to support its acquisition activity.

Following the Eventbrite announcement, Bending Spoons highlighted several areas it plans to explore post-acquisition. These include integrating AI tools to streamline event creation, improving platform search, developing messaging features, and evaluating options for a secondary ticketing system.

For Eventbrite, the move adds another chapter to a company that once represented a rising force in the “experience economy.” Co-founder and CEO Julia Hartz noted the platform’s evolution from a tool for small local events to a global marketplace spanning millions of gatherings annually.

If the transaction closes as planned, Eventbrite would join AOL and Vimeo as major brands recently brought under Bending Spoons’ ownership, signaling the firm’s continued pursuit of reshaping legacy digital platforms through operational and technological overhaul.