Brightcove, a cloud platform that helps companies handle and monetize video content material, is being taken personal by Italian know-how firm Bending Spoons in an all-cash deal valued at $233 million.
The transaction costs Brightcove at $4.45 per share, translating to a 90% premium on its 60-day common.
Founded out of Boston in 2004, Brightcove develops instruments and providers for creating, internet hosting, streaming, advertising, and monetizing video content material, with purchasers together with Marriott Hotels, Ford, and Johnson & Johnson. The firm, which went public on the Nasdaq in 2012 at $11 per share, hasn’t had a fruitful time of late — its most up-to-date earnings revealed revenues have been down 2% on the 12 months earlier, whereas internet losses widened by 22%. Brightcove’s market cap additionally hit an all-time low of $72 million earlier this 12 months, although it lately rebounded to a 12-month excessive of $143 million — all in all, although, the corporate hasn’t had a good time of it with Wall Street.
“As the Board considered the long-term path for Brightcove, we unanimously determined that this transaction represents the best opportunity to maximize the value of the business and deliver compelling, certain, and immediate cash value to our stockholders,” Brightcove board chair Diane Hessan mentioned in a press release issued immediately.
Bending Spoons, for its half, is a Baillie Gifford-backed cell app growth firm that has turn out to be recognized for varied notable acquisitions lately. This contains Evernote, which it purchased in 2022 earlier than shedding 129 of its workers; and WeTransfer, which it purchased again in July shortly earlier than sacking 75% of its 350 workforce.
Elsewhere, Bending Spoons purchased standard video app Filmic in 2022, earlier than shedding the whole lot of the workers a 12 months later. And shortly after closing its acquisition of community-building platform Meetup in January, Bending Spoons’ co-founder and CEO Luca Ferrari introduced it was “significantly reducing” Meetup’s U.S. headcount.
So there’s a clear pattern from the previous couple of years which may not bode properly for Brightcove, although it’s too early to inform what the end result might be right here.
This newest acquisition, although, indicators Bending Spoons’ entry to the enterprise SaaS market, and represents its first ever acquisition of a publicly-traded firm. Ferrari mentioned that Brightcove is a “respected name in the streaming technology space,” in response to the press launch.
“When Bending Spoons acquires a business, we do so with the intention of owning and operating it indefinitely,” Ferrari mentioned. “With this in mind, we’re excited about building on the strong work of the current team, and ensuring Brightcove thrives for many years to come.”
The transaction is anticipated to shut within the first half of 2025, and continues to be topic to regulatory and shareholder approvals.
