(Reuters) – Technology conglomerate Bending Spoons will buy Vimeo for about $1.38 billion in cash and take it private, the companies said on Wednesday, sending the online video platform’s shares soaring more than 60% in morning trading.
Vimeo shareholders will get $7.85 in cash for each share they own — a 63% premium to the stock’s last close.
The companies said the deal is expected to conclude in the fourth quarter this year.
Privately held Bending Spoons’ business model centers on revamping and developing firms and products they acquire. It had bought file-sharing service WeTransfer in July last year.
Bankers see the Milan, Italy-based company as a candidate for an IPO in the U.S. market.
Vimeo was spun off from American media executive and entrepreneur Barry Diller’s IAC in 2021. The platform has not been able to sustain pandemic-era spike spurred by remote working and learning.
Bending Spoons plans to expand self-service tools, OTT streaming via Vimeo Streaming, and enterprise offerings, Vimeo CEO Philip Moyer said in a statement.
Allen & Company LLC is Vimeo’s financial adviser, while J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo and BNP advised Bending Spoons.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru and Elvira Pollina in Milan; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
