Vimeo to be acquired by Bending Spoons for $1.38 billion

Vimeo is getting bought up by Bending Spoons, a European software company that has amassed a growing portfolio of businesses, including Evernote, WeTransfer, and Meetup. Bending Spoons will pay $1.38 billion to acquire the video hosting platform, and it expects to close the deal later this year.

Vimeo launched in 2004 as a spinoff of CollegeHumor and has long struggled to keep up with its biggest rival: YouTube. In recent years, Vimeo has hiked video hosting fees and shifted toward catering to enterprise businesses as well as creators who want to monetize their content. Philip Moyer joined Vimeo as CEO last year as the company began dipping into AI tools. Just last week, Moyer announced that the platform is laying off around 10 percent of the company’s workforce.

Bending Spoon’s deal to acquire Vimeo will take the video hosting platform private. Over the years, Bending Spoons hasn’t garnered the best reputation, as it has issued layoffs across many of the companies it acquired and introduced new limitations on Evernote’s free plan, while also raising the price of TapeACall’s subscription. 

“At Bending Spoons, we acquire companies with the expectation of owning and operating them indefinitely, and we look forward to realizing Vimeo’s full potential as we reach new heights together,” Luca Ferrari, the CEO and co-founder of Bending Spoons, said in the press release.