Eventbrite Going Private in $500 Million Sale to Italian Company That Is Buying AOL

Eventbrite, the San Francisco-based ticketing and event management platform, is set to be acquired by Italian tech company Bending Spoons in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $500 million. The agreement, announced this week via SEC filings, offers Eventbrite shareholders $4.50 per share — a premium of roughly 82% over the company’s 60-day volume-weighted average price. 

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Bending Spoons will acquire Eventbrite through a U.S. subsidiary, with the deal expected to close in the first half of 2026, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals. Once completed, Eventbrite will become a privately held company and delist from the New York Stock Exchange, where it is trading at $4.44 per share.

“For two decades, Eventbrite has stood at the forefront of the experience economy, helping tens of millions to create, discover, and attend unforgettable events,” said Luca Ferrari, Bending Spoons CEO and co-founder. “As longstanding fans, we’ve identified a few opportunities that we’re excited about exploring with the Eventbrite team after closing the transaction. These include building a dedicated messaging feature, introducing AI for easier event creation, improving searchability, and creating a system for the secondary ticket market.” 

Founded in 2006, Eventbrite carved out a niche as a self-service platform for event organizers, enabling millions of creators and small businesses to manage ticketing and promotion of events, including the pop-up variety. However, the company has faced challenges in recent years, including pandemic-related disruptions and intensifying competition from Ticketmaster and other bigger players. Going private also offers Eventbrite the flexibility to pursue changes without quarterly earnings scrutiny.

Bending Spoons, known for its portfolio of popular consumer apps, has accelerated its expansion through a string of high-profile acquisitions, including Evernote, Meetup, and WeTransfer. Most recently, the company added two icons of the early internet era — America Online and Vimeo — to its growing roster. The company says its strategy centers on revitalizing established platforms with new tech and user experience improvements. For Eventbrite, that means a roadmap featuring AI-powered event creation tools, enhanced search, dedicated messaging for attendees, and even a secondary ticket marketplace — features aimed at boosting both engagement and monetization.

Eventbrite CEO and co-founder Julia Hartz will remain involved through the transition, supported by advisors Allen & Company and Skadden Arps. Bending Spoons is being advised by J.P. Morgan and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

“Eventbrite helped unlock something profoundly human: the need to gather, to connect and to build community around the passions we share,” said Hartz. “What began as an unmet need — to empower local creators and community leaders to bring people together — has grown into a global movement that has shaped millions of meaningful experiences and helped event-goers find their people in moments that matter most… There has never been a more important time to bring the world together in real life.”

The acquisition reflects broader trends in the tech sector, where private ownership is increasingly seen as a path to reinvention for mature platforms. By leveraging AI and integrated ecosystems, Bending Spoons hopes to position Eventbrite as a leader in the evolving live events economy.

For Eventbrite’s shareholders, the deal offers immediate liquidity at a significant premium. The purchase price of $4.50 per share in cash represents a sharp jump from prices in late November, which hovered around $2.48–$2.72 before the deal was disclosed.