Two international acquisition deals were closed by Bending Spoons in July 2024: on the 19th it announced that it had bought Issuu, and on the 31st came the news that the Italian scaleup had acquired WeTransfer.
Issuu and WeTransfer are two rather popular applications, and their acquisition fits in with the Milanese company’s strategy, which had already completed operations of this type such as those of Evernote, StreamYard (Hopin) and Mosaic Group .
WeTransfer, based in the Netherlands thus becomes owned by Bending Spoons and its CEO Alexandar Vassilev, comments on the transaction in a statement: “Over the past ten years, WeTransfer has grown from an extremely simple file sharing tool to a highly profitable and impactful platform trusted by millions of professionals and creatives. In recent years, the company has experienced a period of accelerated growth, fuelled by strategic product development, which has led the platform to serve more than 600,000 subscribers and 80 million monthly active users. In addition, cultivating creative communities and amplifying their voices has been key to our success. Some of Bending Spoons’ most successful products are tools in the service of creativity; therefore, we are confident that this milestone will complement both activities, strengthen our growth and help us create even more value for the creative industries at large.
Damian Bradfield, co-founder and CCO of WeTransfer, adds: ‘On the surface, WeTransfer may look like a file-sharing company, but it is also an Oscar-winning publishing platform, the most extraordinary advertising channel on the internet and an avid supporter of the creative industries. The commitment and availability to our most loyal users such as artists, musicians, photographers, filmmakers, has fuelled our project from the beginning and helped us build a global brand with unprecedented levels of trust. Bending Spoons has been consistently ranked among the best companies to work for, and being one of the flagships of the Italian technology industry we are very optimistic about where this synergy can take us”.
Co-founder and CEO of Bending Spoons, Luca Ferrari, says: “WeTransfer is a well-respected name in technology and creativity. We are thrilled to become its new owners and feel a strong sense of responsibility to help the brand and company thrive for many years to come.”
To celebrate the acquisition and affirm its commitment to the creative community, Bending Spoons promises to donate at least three million dollars to The Supporting Act Foundation over the next two years. The foundation’s mission is to support emerging artists and artist-led groups from underrepresented communities.
Bending Spoons also pledges to continue reserving 30 per cent of WeTransfer’s advertising space for charity campaigns and editorial content. Finally, WePresent will continue to showcase the work of deserving creatives, including emerging artists.
WeTransfer was founded in the Netherlands by Bas Beerens, Nalden and Damian Bradfield. It is funded by Highland Capital Partners and HPE Growth. In addition to the CEO, the acquisition was led by COO/CFO Melissa Nussbaum.
A few days ago it was Issuu’s turn and its CEO Joe Hyrkin, said: “Issuu has become the leading digital publishing platform, with over one million creators and marketers using the platform each year and 100 million unique users per month consuming Issuu-processed content. Issuu has effectively become the standard for any company or publisher that wants to digitally reach and expand its audience. As Issuu is a profitable and growing company, Bending Spoons is in a unique position to dramatically extend Issuu’s reach and the impact we can offer businesses globally. While Ferrari commented: “We are positively impressed with what the Issuu team has achieved over the years and are excited about its future prospects. By leveraging the skills and technologies of Bending Spoons, we believe we can help Issuu grow further. Issuu is funded by Heartcore Ventures and KDDI.
Information on the values of the two transactions has not been disclosed. (photo Luca Ferrari)
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