Berkshire Hathaway Acquires Bending Spoons
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Berkshire Hathaway’s biggest recent acquisition is of the Italian holding company, Bending Spoons, which buys up older Internet companies from AOL and Vimeo to SaaS digital Evernote.
Bending Spoons
Bending Spoons gets its name from Keanu Reeves' iconic moment in The Matrix (1999) series, where a child shows him a spoon bending and an alternate reality.
In October, Berkshire Hathaway invested an additional $330 million in Milan-based tech holding company Bending Spoons via a private placement of 10 million shares at $33 per share, raising its total investment to $930 million and a 4% ownership stake.
Key Details of the Deal
Initial Investment: Berkshire Hathaway invested $600 million in Bending Spoons when it went public on the Nasdaq in July 2026 at $29 per share.
Second Round: The new $330 million private placement values the latest shares at $33 each.
Total Stake: The combined $930 million commitment gives Berkshire a 4% stake in the company.
Market Impact: The announcement triggered a sharp surge in Bending Spoons stock (often called the "Buffett effect"), pushing shares up over 40%, according to CNBC.
What is Bending Spoons?
Business Model: An Italian digital holding company or quasi-private equity firm that acquires well-known software and internet brands and restructures them for efficiency.
Portfolio: Owns and operates prominent digital names like AOL, Vimeo, Evernote, and Eventbrite.
Inspiration: CEO Luca Ferrari has frequently cited Berkshire Hathaway as a structural and philosophical inspiration for how they build and manage their holdings.
Strategic Significance
Leadership Transition: This aggressive tech-adjacent move aligns with a broader shift in capital allocation under CEO Greg Abel following Warren Buffett's retirement as CEO and chairman.
Departure from Tradition: Berkshire has historically avoided high-valuation tech companies, making this high-growth acquisition model a departure from traditional value-investing boundaries.
Berkshire Hathaway’s cash position has grown substantially in recent years. Its 2026 cash position is a staggering $365 billion, enough to buy 472 S&P 500 companies.
