Vimeo has announced that it has entered an agreement to be acquired by Bending Spoons, the Italian tech company, in an "all-cash transaction" coming in at around $1.38 billion. Under the agreement, Vimeo shareholders will receive $7.85 for each share they own.
Bending Spoons is the Milan-based tech company that seems to have a knack for buying well-known, sometimes struggling, digital brands, with the most famous example being Evernote, which it purchased back in 2022.
Since then, its portfolio has expanded to include other apps you"ve probably heard of like the file-sharing service WeTransfer, the live-broadcasting tool StreamYard, and the event platform Meetup.
Bending Spoons is a bit controversial, mostly because of what happens after its acquisitions. Following the Evernote deal, the company laid off most of Evernote"s US-based employees and relocated operations to Europe.
It also has a history of raising the subscription prices of the software it buys, which it did with the FiLMiC Pro video app. Despite all this, the company"s strategy has been financially successful, pushing it to "unicorn" status with a valuation of $2.55 billion in February 2024.
Vimeo itself has not had an easy road. For years, the platform struggled to find its place against Google"s gigantic online video empire, YouTube. After realizing it couldn"t win the "eyeball" race for mass viewership, Vimeo found a way out by focusing on professional creators and businesses.
The platform was the first to support high-definition video back in 2007, and it steadily built out its software as a service (SaaS) offerings, offering subscription plans with features like advanced privacy controls and an ad-free player.
Glenn H. Schiffman, Chairman of the Vimeo Board of Directors, stated that the decision happened after a "disciplined review" of strategic alternatives. The transaction is expected to be finalized in the fourth quarter of 2025, after which Vimeo will become a privately held company and its stock will be delisted from public exchanges.