Bending Spoons Pays $1.38B for Vimeo + Revenue and EBITDA Valuation Multiples

RockWater Roundup

M&A analysis of the creator economy to make you a better operator and investor.

Today we discuss Bending Spoons’ acquisition of Vimeo, a video hosting platform serving businesses, professionals, and enterprises. We analyze deal details, strategic rationale, valuation multiples, and increasing M&A consolidation in the video hosting market.

Let’s break it down…

————

–SELLER: Vimeo–

Overview

• Video hosting platform serving businesses, professionals, and enterprises
• Serves Fortune 500, SMBs, healthcare, tech, education, and marketing agencies
• In 2021 spun off from IAC ( acquired Vimeo parent co in 2006), began publicly trading on NASDAQ as VMEO
• Recent cost cuts include 10% workforce reduction in early 2025, and 26% of its employees in past three years
• Layoffs targeted high-cost areas such as Sales and R&D, supports recent focus on enterprise clients
• Founded by Jakob Lodwick and Zach Klein in 2004, CEO is Philip Moyer
• Based in NY with global operations
• 1400+ associated members via LI

Founding Story

• Founded in 2004 by Jakob Lodwick and Zach Klein as a spinoff from CollegeHumor under its parent company, Connected Ventures
• Initially positioned as alternative to YouTube with focus on quality and community
• Built reputation as platform for filmmakers, animators, and creative professionals
• IAC acquired Connected Ventures in 2006, which included CollegeHumor, BustedTees, and Vimeo
• Post-acquisition, IAC expanded Vimeo’s corporate infrastructure and pivoted the platform toward monetization and enterprise adoption
• Went through multiple leadership changes before spinoff from IAC in 2021
• Recent focus shifted from creative community to enterprise video solutions

Company Highlights

• 260M active users with 90% subscription rate
• Enterprise client base includes Apple, Amazon, Walmart, Verizon, Marriott

Business Lines / Service Offerings

• Self-Serve…
• Individual creator accounts with privacy controls and customization
• Monthly subscription tiers from basic to professional creator plans
• Four tiers range from free to $65+ / month
• Higher tiers allow for scaling of storage, seats, and collaboration tools
• OTT / Vimeo Streaming…
• White-label video streaming solutions for businesses
• Live streaming capabilities and event hosting platform
• Four tiers range from $1 per subscriber / month to $3,900+ / month
• Services range from basic web-based SVOD channels to advanced customization options and dedicated infrastructure
• Vimeo Enterprise…
• Advanced video hosting for large organizations
• Integration with CRM systems and marketing automation platforms
• Advanced analytics and user management tools

Recent Capital Markets History

• Sep ‘25: Acquired by Bending Spoons for $1.38B
• Nov ‘21: Acquired WIREWAX, an interactive and shoppable video tech platform
• Nov ‘21: Acquired Wibbitz, a text-to-video automation platform
• May ‘21: Spun off from IAC: Shareholders of IAC received 87% ownership of Vimeo, IAC retained 13%. Listed at $57 per share 
• Jan ‘21: Received $300M in growth equity funding from Mosaic General Partnerships, Oberndorf Enterprises, and T. Rowe Price Group
• Nov ‘20: Received $150M in growth equity funding from Thrive Capital, Nexxus Ventures, and GIC Private

Stock Price

• $7.76 as of 10.14.25
• Up 0.5% MoM
• Up 60.9% YoY

Financials (USD)

(per public filings)

• 1H 2025…
• 1H 2025 Revenue: $207.7M
• 1H 2024 Revenue: $209.3M
• Down 0.8% YoY
• 1H 2025 Adj EBITDA: $1.6M
• 1H 2024 Adj EBITDA: $13.2M
• Down 88% YoY
• FY 2024…
• Revenue: $417M, down 0.1% YoY
• Adj EBITDA: $22.6M, down from 0.6% YoY
• Adj EBITDA Margin: 5.4%

Valuation Analysis

(per stockanalysis.com on 10.13.25)

• Mkt Cap: $1.3B
• C&CE: $303M
• Total Debt: $9.4M
• Enterprise Value: $990M
• Enterprise Value Multiples…
• 2024 Revenue: 2.4x
• 2024 EBITDA: 43.8x
• LTM June 2025 Revenue: 2.4x
• LTM June 2025 EBITDA: 89.4x

–BUYER: Bending Spoons–

Overview

• Milan-based mobile app developer and digital product operator
• Founded in 2013 by Luca Ferrari and Federico Simionato
• Cofounders Ferrari and Simionato started Bending Spoons with $40K seed capital after the failure of a prior AI startup, Evertale
• Known for acquiring software with solid product-market fit, then cutting overhead and optimizing for profitability and long-term ownership
• 680+ members associated on LI

Company Highlights

• Portfolio reaches 300M+ monthly users across dozens of apps incl Remini, Evernote, Meetup, more
• 90% revenue from subscription fees with strong retention metrics

Business Lines

• Mobile App Development…
• AI-powered photo and video editing tools (Remini, Splice)
• Productivity and utility applications across iOS and Android
• Productivity & Collaboration Tools…
• Note-taking and productivity tools (Evernote)
• File sharing and collaboration platforms (WeTransfer)
• Social networking and community platforms (Meetup)
• Enterprise Software…
• Video streaming and communication tools (StreamYard, acquired via Hopin)
• Video streaming platform with scalable hosting and monetization (Brightcove)
• Digital publishing and content distribution (Issuu)

Capital Markets History

• Sep ‘25: Acquired Vimeo for $1.38B
• Aug ‘25: Raised $2.4B to date in debt financing 
• Feb ‘25: Acquired Brightcove, a cloud-based video solutions platform, for $190M
• Jul ‘24: Acquired WeTransfer BV, an online file-transferring platform, for $800M
• Apr ‘24: Acquired StreamYard, a live streaming application
• Feb ‘24: Acquired Mosaic Group Holdings, a mobile app developer, for $146.5M
• Sep ‘22: Received $340M in growth equity funding from Maximum Effort Productions (founded by actor Ryan Reynolds, who sold to MNTN in 2021 but regained control in early 2025) and Creator Partners

–DEAL DETAILS–

Overview

• Announced September 10, 2025
• All-cash transaction valued at $1.38B
• $7.85 per share, representing 91% premium over 60-day average

Valuation Analysis

• 2024 Revenue: 3.3x
• 2024 EBITDA: 61.1x
• LTM June 2025 Revenue: 3.3x
• LTM June 2025 EBITDA: 124.5x

Strategic Rationale

• Aligns with Bending Spoons’ strategy of acquiring established software with loyal user bases and optimizing for long-term profitability
• Accelerates Bending Spoons’ expansion into enterprise video solutions by adding Vimeo’s established business customer base and advanced video hosting technology
• Creates comprehensive video content ecosystem combining Vimeo’s hosting with StreamYard’s and Brightcove’s streaming, hosting, and content creation tools
• Provides access to Vimeo’s 260M user base and strong enterprise relationships, enabling cross-selling opportunities across Bending Spoons’ app portfolio
• Strengthens position against enterprise video platforms by combining hosting, live streaming, and video marketing tools.
• “Vimeo is a pioneering brand in the video space, serving a passionate, global community of creators and businesses,” said Luca Ferrari, Bending Spoons CEO

Post-Deal Operations

• Vimeo will operate as independent subsidiary under Bending Spoons ownership
• Philip Moyer continues as Vimeo CEO with commitment to maintain creator community focus
• Integration planned with existing video tools including StreamYard and potential synergies with WeTransfer file sharing

–WHAT ELSE I FIND INTERESTING–

• Increasing M&A consolidation in video hosting market
• Video hosting market valued at $15B in 2025, growing at 18% CAGR 
• Bending Spoons acquired video hosting platform Brightcove in Nov 2024, and now Vimeo in Sep 2025. This is party of a strategy to consolidate video hosting solutions for professional and enterprise video publishers and streamers.
• Established players include YouTube (consumer UGC / AVOD), Vimeo (enterprise / professionals), Brightcove (enterprise), and Uscreen (professional creators, and moving up market). 
• Emerging players include Wistia, Dacast, Kaltura, Panopto, and Vidyard, who target niche enterprise or SMB markets.
• There are other categories of companies that are tangential to the video hosting space. These include creator membership platforms that also host video like Kajabi, Patreon, and Mighty Networks, as well as eLearning platforms like Teachable, Thinkific, Membership.io, and Skillshare (our deal analysis of their acquisition of Superpeer). I also think of specialized offerings for creators and communities within verticals like fitness, wellness, beauty, etc. Overall, the business models and value prop of these tangential categories have differences and aren’t solely focused on high-powered and multi-feature video hosting, but they do overlap in video hosting use cases, and are worth mentioning.
• Of note, as it relates to the established video hosting platform players, in Feb 2025 Uscreen secured $150M in growth funding from growth equity firm PSG. 
• We reached out to Allison Yazdian, the new CEO at Uscreen who joined in June 2025, and who I recently met on our September VIP yacht cruise. Her quick take on the deal → “Consolidation in video is no surprise as capital concentrates around scalable platforms. It reinforces how critical it is to own the infrastructure behind your video business.”
• On Uscreen, you can check out their website to learn more about their value prop and company positioning e.g. “Build a world-class streaming platform or the next big membership community. Uscreen makes it easy to turn your videos into a profitable subscription business.” and “With Uscreen, you can offer a world-class video catalog and viewing experience, an exclusive community space, and native live streaming – all in one place.”
• Overall, the simple value drivers for any video hosting platform is to drive (1) higher client AOV through a growing set of features and upselling to more premium clients e.g. enterprise (2) more and larger clients with good CAC (3) low churn / high retention via great tech, features, and customer service…which collectively will drive higher MRR and overall SaaS KPIs, which will drive future exit valuation. 
• With the recent M&A we discussed above, it’s clear that after a couple decades of many entrants to the video hosting market, the market is shaking out. There will be dominant players within a handful of segments (e.g. professional creators, enterprise), and we expect to be a winner-take-most market. Though there could be continued market fragmentation for verticals where specialized features will service unique behaviors between varying different online communities; my point about fitness, wellness, beauty, etc. But as I write this, I think about specialized platforms for social commerce, and then TikTok just ate everyone’s lunch, and TBD where that leaves the #2 in WhatNot…
• Lastly, YouTube has been extremely dominant in UGC video and AVOD. To that point, let’s discuss some updates on their “newer” Channel Memberships product, which was first introduced in 2018, 14 years after the core YouTube product launched in 2004….

• YouTube is making a push on its paywall video offering
• Starting in late 2024 and expanding in October 2025, YouTube’s algorithm increasingly promotes paywalled Members Only videos in user feeds (Quasa has good reporting here).
• Previously, paid-only content was separated from public videos. But now, both are combined to promote membership upgrades.
• Many creators say this clutters subscriber feeds without adding meaningful revenue. Notable creators like Linus Tech Tips and Ludwig publicly removed or criticized Members Only videos after the change.
• As a result, creators are seeking workarounds, like sharing early videos via unlisted links to avoid feed congestion.
• Vimeo and other independent platforms benefit from creator frustration with YouTube’s algorithm and paywall tactics. Specifically, video hosting platforms like Vimeo, Brightcove, Uscreen, et al can position themselves as a premium alternative for creators seeking better control over audience engagement and monetization. These platforms can highlight that their model supports niche communities and business use cases neglected by YouTube’s consumer-driven changes.
• Curious to how all of this will shake out. YouTube will (always?) be dominant as the go-to top-of-funnel platform to build audience (over 2.7B MAUs!). But for bottom-of-funnel platforms, the market is still competitive, and I do believe there’s room for different video hosting and community platforms to succeed and build good businesses. Just TBD to what size…I think a $1B+ valuation feels elusive for most of the remaining players, but I can see many getting to high 8 and 9 figure valuations based on MRR potential ($100M+) and MRR / ARR multiples we’re seeing in the market today, and expected over the next few years.   

I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for creator economy and digital agencies. From buy / sell-side M&A and fundraising, to consumer research and go-to-market planning.

DM me on LinkedIn or email me chris@wearerockwater.com

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