Finance
Italy’s Bending Spoons to acquire AOL, secures $2.8 billion in debt financing
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on October 29, 2025
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Global Banking and Finance Review is an online platform offering news, analysis, and opinion on the latest trends, developments, and innovations in the banking and finance industry worldwide. The platform covers a diverse range of topics, including banking, insurance, investment, wealth management, fintech, and regulatory issues. The website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on October 29, 2025
By Elvira Pollina
MILAN (Reuters) -Italian tech company Bending Spoons said on Wednesday it will acquire AOL from Yahoo, which is backed by Apollo Global Management, adding a storied internet brand to its growing portfolio of digital businesses.
Bending Spoons said it secured a $2.8 billion debt financing package to support the acquisition, as well as investments in research and development and future M&A activity.
Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Sources familiar with the matter had told Reuters that Yahoo was nearing the sale of AOL to Bending Spoons for $1.4 billion when it reported on the likely transaction on October 1.
NEW CHAPTER FOR AOL
"AOL is an important and beloved business with a brand that has stood the test of time," Bending Spoons said in a statement to Reuters.
"It has strong fundamentals — high subscriber retention and, with around 30 million monthly and 8 million daily active users, excellent engagement," it said, adding that AOL ranks among the top 10 most used email apps globally.
Milan-based Bending Spoons has emerged as one of Europe's most prominent technology firms, with a strategy of purchasing struggling tech companies and revamping them.
The deal marks a fresh chapter for AOL, the one-time giant of the internet age, known for its email service and "You've Got Mail" notification.
AOL was at the centre of the biggest merger in history at the time when it combined with Time Warner in 2000 but the mega-deal resulted in regulatory probes and writedowns.
SERIES OF ACQUISITIONS
The announcement of the AOL deal comes one month after Bending Spoons entered a definitive agreement to acquire video platform Vimeo.
The latest financing package was provided by a consortium of leading banks including Banco BPM, BNP Paribas, CACIB Crédit Agricole, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, JP Morgan, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho, Société Générale, UniCredit, and Wells Fargo.
The round brings Bending Spoons' total debt funding in 2025 to around $4 billion, the company said.
Bending Spoons, whose products count 300 million monthly users, has made a series of acquisitions recently, including file-sharing service WeTransfer, note-taking tool Evernote and photo editor Remini.
Bankers see the firm as a candidate for an initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S.
(Reporting by Elvira PollinaEditing by Keith Weir)