Bending Spoons to buy Miro for $1.36B, 90% below peak

Bending Spoons ↗ 0.51%, the Milan-based software consolidator that listed on the Nasdaq ↗ 0.63% in July, has agreed to acquire Miro, the visual collaboration platform, for an enterprise value of $1.355 billion in an all-cash deal, the companies announced on Thursday. The transaction implies an equity value of roughly $1.79 billion after accounting for Miro's net cash.businesswire+3

The price represents approximately a 90% decline from the $17.5 billion valuation Miro commanded during its January 2022 Series C round, underscoring the collapse in SaaS startup valuations since the pandemic-era boom.forbes+1

A Growing Platform Sold at a Fraction of Its Peak

Miro, founded in 2011 by Andrey Khusid and Oleg Shardin, has grown from 30 million users at the time of its Series C to more than 100 million users and nearly 4 million paying customers today. Its annual recurring revenue stands at around $600 million, with nearly 90% derived from business and enterprise clients. The purchase price equates to roughly 2.3 times ARR.bebeez+3

Over its lifetime, Miro raised $476 million in venture funding from investors including ICONIQ Growth, Accel, Atlassian ↗ 1.39%, Dragoneer, GIC, Salesforce ↗ 0.06% Ventures, and TCV. Certain Miro shareholders have agreed to reinvest $295 million of their proceeds into newly issued Bending Spoons equity rather than take cash at the current valuation.bloomberg+2

Bending Spoons' Acquisition Machine

The Miro deal comes just weeks after Bending Spoons completed its acquisition of Airtable for $1.285 billion in enterprise value. Both companies were prominent collaboration startups that raised billions during the zero-interest-rate era and are now exiting at a fraction of their peak valuations.dealroom+1

Bending Spoons CEO Luca Ferrari said the company plans to "invest significantly in the core elements that its customers value: performance, reliability and features that support the most critical collaborative work". The company's post-acquisition playbook has historically included restructuring teams and staff reductions that can reach up to 70% of the workforce at acquired firms.forbes+1

What It Means for SaaS

In a letter to employees on Thursday, Miro co-founder Khusid said the company remains profitable and called the deal a path to realizing an "AI-first workspace" vision. The transaction, which was unanimously approved by both boards, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026 pending regulatory approvals.reuters+2

As Forbes noted, every collaboration and productivity company carrying a 2021-era valuation is now a potential target, and "the pressing question for other SaaS companies is whether to sell now at 2.5 times ARR or hold out for potentially lower offers from the same buyer later".forbes