Bending Spoons, a Milan-based software company known for acquiring tech businesses, has raised over €500 million (US$585 million) in debt to fund new acquisitions.

The latest financing includes a €350 million (US$409 million) leveraged loan secured in July, with JP Morgan Chase as lead arranger and BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole as book runners.

Bending Spoons plans to use the funds for another acquisition by early next year, said CEO Luca Ferrari.

The company bought US video-streaming firm Brightcove for US$233 million earlier this year and previously acquired consumer apps such as Evernote and WeTransfer.

Bending Spoons was valued at about US$2.6 billion by investors in 2024.

Tech industry acquisition activity, including deals yet to be completed, has risen over 74% year-on-year to US$379 billion, based on Bloomberg data.

In March, Bending Spoons also took out a US$100 million loan.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Debt-fueled consolidation creates value through operational efficiency rather than just scale

Bending Spoons demonstrates how modern tech consolidators are using leveraged financing to systematically improve acquired companies’ operations, not just accumulate assets.

After acquiring Brightcove for $233 million, the company boosted EBITDA by 30% through operational improvements1. Similarly, their Meetup acquisition resulted in a 50% reduction in customer acquisition costs through better optimization1.

This approach allows them to generate $700 million in revenue with just 400 employees, creating extraordinary operational leverage that supports their debt-heavy acquisition strategy1.

The model contrasts with traditional private equity roll-ups that typically focus on financial engineering. Instead, Bending Spoons appears to be applying consistent operational improvements across a diverse portfolio of consumer apps and software tools.

Their $2 billion acquisition pipeline indicates that this debt-financed consolidation approach could scale effectively, particularly in fragmented markets where smaller software companies lack the resources for advanced optimization techniques1.