Bending Spoons saw its shares rise roughly 7% during their first day of trading in the United States on Wednesday, reflecting investor demand at the start of its public-market life and valuing the Italian technology company at approximately $19.7 billion.
The company set the initial public offering price at $29.00 per share, which was above the midpoint of the guidance it had previously provided. The original proposed range for the IPO was $26 to $28 per share, making the final pricing a step up from that corridor.
Details of the offering
The IPO consisted of a total of 57,971,015 ordinary shares. Of that total, Bending Spoons itself offered 34,398,640 shares. In addition, certain selling shareholders put 23,572,375 shares on the market. The company will not receive proceeds from the block of shares sold by those selling shareholders.
Following the offering, the company’s shares are listed and trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market using the ticker symbol BSP.
Market context and immediate implications
The first-day price move and the $29 IPO price both indicate that the public demand at launch exceeded the initial guidance range. The mix of shares sold - with a meaningful portion coming from selling shareholders - means that the immediate capital inflow to the company from the IPO is limited to the shares it itself sold.
Because a portion of the deal was allocated to selling shareholders, the distribution of proceeds differs between shareholders who sold and the company itself. This structure will affect how much new capital the company raised directly through the offering versus the amount that shifted hands among existing holders.
Summary takeaways
- Bending Spoons debuted in U.S. markets with a nearly 7% first-day gain, valuing the business at about $19.7 billion.
- The IPO price was set at $29.00 per share, above the earlier $26 to $28 proposed range.
- The offering included 57,971,015 ordinary shares in total, split between company-offered shares and shares sold by certain existing shareholders.