Bending Spoons Acquires Collaboration Tools Maker Miro at a Steep Discount

The Acquisition of Miro by Bending Spoons: A Significant Shift in Valuation

Amidst the ongoing trend of acquiring software companies at reduced prices, Bending Spoons, an Italian firm, has made headlines by purchasing Miro for a substantial sum of $1.36 billion in cash, with an equity value of $1.79 billion. This acquisition marks a stark decrease in the valuation of Miro, a once-prominent workplace collaboration startup that was valued at a staggering $17.5 billion in late 2021.

The Rise of Miro: From RealtimeBoard to a Leading Collaboration Platform

Originally established in 2011 as RealtimeBoard, Miro underwent a transformative journey to become a renowned whiteboarding tool. The company experienced a significant surge in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, as organizations transitioned to remote work environments, leading to a heightened demand for virtual collaboration solutions.

Miro swiftly seized this opportunity by developing a versatile platform that seamlessly integrated with over 250 applications and forged strategic partnerships with industry giants like Atlassian, Cisco, Microsoft, and Zoom. Furthermore, Miro empowered its users to create custom integrations with popular tools, enabling them to tailor the platform to suit their specific requirements. Presently, Miro positions itself as an “AI innovation workspace,” offering a range of AI-powered features such as assistants for whiteboard tools, AI workflows, prototyping capabilities, and AI connectors that extract contextual information from platforms like GitHub, Jira, and Slack.

Explosive Growth and Market Dynamics

By 2022, Miro had witnessed a remarkable uptick in its user base, soaring from five million to approximately 30 million users within just two years. Additionally, the number of paying customers surged by an impressive 550%, contributing substantially to the company’s lofty valuation at the time.

Despite sustaining growth, albeit at a moderated pace, Miro presently boasts over four million paying users and a total user base of 100 million individuals. Bending Spoons disclosed that Miro generates around $600 million in annual recurring revenue, with 90% stemming from corporate clients and enterprises. The company also maintains a healthy cash reserve of approximately $435 million and operates profitably.

Market Realities and Strategic Decisions

The substantial 92% decline in Miro’s valuation underscores the evolving landscape of software-as-a-service (SaaS) businesses, which have witnessed a reevaluation of valuation multiples since the peak of 2021. As the pandemic-induced tailwinds waned in 2022, organizations began rationalizing expenses by consolidating software applications and licenses, thereby favoring comprehensive suites over individual collaboration tools. Consequently, Miro faced intensified competition from better-funded rivals such as Canva, Figma, and Microsoft in the workplace collaboration arena, leading to a repositioning within the market.

Despite employing approximately 1,200 individuals in 2022, Miro underwent workforce reductions, including two rounds of layoffs involving 119 employees in February 2023 and reportedly an additional 275 individuals in October 2024.

Bending Spoons’ Strategic Acquisitions

Notably, Bending Spoons’ acquisition strategy aligns with a distinctive trend in the industry, targeting established SaaS companies that have transitioned from rapid growth to a more stabilized, yet lucrative, operational phase. This approach mirrors the acquisition of Airtable, previously valued at over $11 billion in 2021, which Bending Spoons acquired for $1.28 billion recently.

While Bending Spoons capitalizes on acquiring successful companies at a fraction of their peak valuations, questions linger regarding the rationale behind Miro’s board and investors agreeing to the sale at a significantly reduced price point. The decision to divest, particularly when Miro exhibited financial stability and robust growth, raises speculation about the prevailing sentiment towards SaaS companies seeking public offerings or comparable exits.

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