Berkshire Hathaway has invested an additional $330mn in Bending Spoons, raising its stake to 4 per cent. The investment was made via a placement of 10mn ordinary shares at $33 a share. Bending Spoons shares surged more than 40 per cent in trading, pushing its market capitalisation close to $34bn.
This follows Berkshire’s initial $600mn investment at the company’s IPO in July. The move comes as new CEO Greg Abel begins deploying the conglomerate’s $365bn cash pile, ending a three-year selling streak. Bending Spoons, which owns AOL, Eventbrite, and Vimeo, specialises in acquiring and turnaround of struggling tech brands.
CEO Luca Ferrari called Berkshire a "longstanding inspiration" and praised the partnership. The company has faced criticism for mass redundancies and limited financial disclosure. Berkshire’s previous IPO investments include Snowflake and Stone Co.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing