Berkshire Hathaway has agreed to buy 10 million newly issued ordinary shares of Bending Spoons at $33 apiece, a private placement expected to produce about $330 million in gross proceeds for the Nasdaq-listed software acquirer. The agreement is binding, but the purchase has not yet closed: Bending Spoons expects completion in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.
The distinction is consequential for both companies. If completed, the transaction would lift Berkshire’s ownership of Bending Spoons to 4% and give the buyer of software businesses additional capital for acquisitions and general corporate purposes. It would also deepen Berkshire’s financial relationship with Bending Spoons only months after its reported $600 million investment in the company’s July initial public offering.
New shares would fund the company
The proposed deal is structured as an issuance by Bending Spoons rather than a purchase of existing stock from another holder. The company would issue 10 million ordinary shares, and the arithmetic behind the stated value is direct: 10 million shares multiplied by the $33 purchase price equals $330 million. A filing-based account of Bending Spoons’ Form 6-K describes the amount as gross proceeds, meaning it is before offering expenses rather than the final net cash available to the company.
That structure directs the new capital to Bending Spoons. The company said it plans to use net proceeds for general corporate purposes and new acquisitions. New shares also increase the number of shares outstanding, so other holders’ percentage ownership would be reduced unless they add shares themselves. The available transaction accounts do not specify the offering expenses or provide enough detail to calculate the resulting dilution for every existing shareholder.
Some coverage has described Berkshire as having made a new investment. The more precise description, based on the disclosed terms, is that Berkshire has agreed to make one. The purchase remains conditional and is expected to close during the fourth quarter. Until then, neither the expected $330 million in gross proceeds nor the projected 4% ownership position should be treated as completed.
A follow-on commitment after the IPO
CNBC reported that Berkshire put $600 million into Bending Spoons’ July IPO. Should the new placement close as outlined, the two reported transactions would amount to $930 million of Berkshire capital committed or invested in connection with Bending Spoons, though the timing and legal status differ: the IPO investment was reported as completed, while the placement remains pending.
The proposed follow-on financing is equal to 55% of Berkshire’s reported IPO investment. That comparison illustrates the scale of the second commitment without implying a change in Bending Spoons’ valuation, which cannot be established from the transaction terms alone. A $33 private-placement price does not by itself show how the shares were valued relative to the IPO price, the market price at any particular time or the terms available to other investors.
Francesco Patarnello, Bending Spoons’ co-founder and head of business acquisitions, said the company continues to see a strong acquisition pipeline and that the added financing would expand its capacity to pursue deals, according to CNBC. Those comments align with the disclosed use of proceeds, but they are an expression of management’s strategy rather than a list of announced acquisitions or a guarantee that particular transactions will occur.
For Berkshire, the arrangement would turn a reported IPO investment into a larger minority stake in a company pursuing external growth. For Bending Spoons, it supplies capital without taking on identified debt, while increasing its share count. The company has not disclosed in the available accounts which potential purchases, if any, could be financed with the proceeds.
Share-price reports require caution
Reports of the market reaction are less consistent than the placement terms. CNBC said Bending Spoons shares rose 41%, while Dealroom reported an increase of roughly 35%, citing Reuters and LSEG market data. The difference may reflect distinct measurement times or benchmarks, but the available reports do not provide the underlying calculations needed to reconcile them.
As a result, the transaction provides a clearer benchmark than either reported share-price move: Berkshire agreed to pay $33 for each of 10 million newly issued shares, with closing still pending. Investors assessing the announcement will need to separate that agreed price and the stated acquisition use of proceeds from intraday market moves and from an ownership stake that Bending Spoons says would reach 4% only after the conditions are satisfied.
