Bending Spoons Confirms Acquisition of AOL in $1.4 Billion Deal

Milan-based tech company Bending Spoons has confirmed its acquisition of  AOLDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → from Yahoo , marking a new chapter for one of the internet’s most enduring brands. The deal, reportedly valued at around $1.4 billion , will be supported by $2.8 billion in debt financing arranged through a consortium of major international banks, including Goldman SachsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, JPMorganDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, HSBC, and BNP ParibasDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.

AOL currently counts around 30 million monthly and 8 million daily active users , ranking among the top 10 most used email apps globally , and continues to generate steady income through advertising and subscription services .

The acquisition continues Bending Spoons’ strategy of acquiring established but underleveraged tech assets and modernizing them. In the past two years, it has added Evernote , WeTransfer , Brightcove , and Vimeo (in a $1.38 billion deal) to its portfolio, which now reaches more than 300 million monthly users . The firm’s model focuses on retaining and revamping acquired platforms rather than dismantling them, with a strong emphasis on product innovation and long-term user engagement.

Founded in Milan in 2013, Bending Spoons has emerged as one of Europe’s most active tech consolidators. The company, valued at $2.55 billion in 2024 , has raised roughly $4 billion in total debt funding in 2025 to fuel acquisitions and R&D. CEO Luca FerrariDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → said the company seeks to “buy tech businesses with untapped potential,” signalling ambitions for further international expansion and possibly a future U.S. IPO .

For AOL , the deal represents the latest turn in a long corporate evolution—from its rise as a 1990s internet pioneer and its ill-fated $100 billion merger with Time WarnerDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → , to acquisitions by Verizon and later Apollo . Under Bending Spoons, the brand that once defined the early internet age appears set for a digital revival under new European ownership.

Sources:
Forbes
TechCrunch
Reuters
The Wall Street Journal

J.V.