Berkshire Hathaway is deepening its bet on Bending Spoons, the Milan-based software group, with a fresh $330 million investment that lifts its ownership stake to 4 per cent, according to a company announcement reported on Wednesday.
The Omaha conglomerate will buy 10 million shares in a private placement priced at $33 apiece, a discount of roughly 13 per cent to Tuesday’s closing price of $37.86. The purchase builds on the $600 million Berkshire committed to Bending Spoons’ initial public offering in July, taking its total investment in the firm to nearly $1 billion.
Shares in Bending Spoons surged by more than a third in early trading on Wednesday following the announcement, a powerful vote of confidence from one of the world’s most closely followed investors.
A Berkshire-like strategy, in software
Bending Spoons has spent the past few years rolling up fading technology companies, acquiring and overhauling businesses such as AOL, Evernote, Vimeo, Eventbrite and WeTransfer. The company says it uses the profits from its existing holdings to fund further acquisitions, and unlike traditional private equity firms, it has never sold a material business.
That model — buying businesses with durable revenue, improving their operations, and holding them indefinitely — bears a striking resemblance to the investment philosophy of Warren Buffett himself. Francesco Patarnello, the company’s co-founder and head of business acquisitions, said the fresh funds would strengthen the group’s financial flexibility and support its acquisition strategy, adding that the company continues to evaluate opportunities and has a strong pipeline.
Abel reshapes Berkshire’s tech exposure
The deal also shows how Greg Abel, who took over as Berkshire’s chief executive at the start of the year, is reshaping the conglomerate’s enormous investment portfolio. Berkshire, better known for owning brands such as Dairy Queen, Duracell and GEICO, has steadily increased its exposure to technology companies, most notably with a large new position in Google parent Alphabet this year.
Data provider LSEG reports the investment makes Berkshire the sixth-largest shareholder in Bending Spoons. For American investors, the episode is a reminder that appetite for technology companies remains strong among the world’s most patient capital, even as broader markets wrestle with inflation and interest-rate uncertainty.
