AOL made internet history in the 90s. Then it watched it fade for twenty years, changing hands several times without ever finding a permanent home. Now that home will be Milan. Apollo Global Management has reached an agreement to sell the portal and the email service to Bending spoons, the Italian tech company that in recent years has built an empire by buying up forgotten brands and relaunching them. The operation is worth approximately $1,5 billion. To finance it, Luke Ferrari and partners have raised $2,8 billion in debt from twelve international banks. AOL brings 30 million monthly users, 8 million daily users, and a nostalgia worth its weight in gold for those who lived through the 56k modem era.
The brand that never dies
AOL is like a colleague who has seen it all but doesn't give up. He dominated the internet when the internet was something for the few, then he made the most expensive merger in history Time Warner in 2000, for $165 billion. A financial disaster that went down in history as an example of what not to do. Moved to Verizon, then to Apollo in 2021 Along with Yahoo, AOL has remained afloat by serving a loyal user base. Eight million people still open their inboxes every day. @aol.com, thirty years later. Ferrari, CEO and co-founder of Bending spoons, called it “an iconic and beloved company, in good health, that has stood the test of time.”
Apollo was not looking for buyers. The brand's solid performance attracted unsolicited offers, prompting the fund to formally evaluate potential buyers. Bending Spoons won the day by promising significant investments in the product and user experience, with a long-term vision. Closure is expected by the end of the year, following regulatory approvals.
Bending Spoons, the Italian strategy of conquest
Bending Spoons is no stranger to this type of operation. The Milanese company founded in 2013 He built his empire by acquiring brands with large user bases but underperforming, then relaunching them with improved technology and management. In 2023 I bought Evernote, in 2024 WeTransfer, Meetup e Streamyard. In September he has signed for Vimeo, 1,38 billion dollars. AOL It's just the latest piece in a strategy aimed at becoming the key player in the relaunch of mature digital platforms.
Ferrari stated that Bending Spoons has "never sold an acquired company" and intends to be "the right long-term custodian" for AOL as well. The model is clear: buy, hold forever, improve. The company has over 300 million monthly users across its apps and platforms, with a 2024 turnover of 622 million euros, up 72,5% compared to the previous year.
Debt as a weapon of expansion
To support the acquisition of AOL and future operations, Bending spoons closed a $2,8 billion financing package. The pool of banks includes prominent names: Banco BPM, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, JP Morgan, Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho, Société Générale, UniCredit e Wells FargoThe facility includes Term Loan A and Term Loan B lines of credit, plus incremental revolving credit facilities.
Ferrari thanked the banks, emphasizing that the support "strengthens our ability to continue acquiring and transforming digital companies around the world with a long-term perspective." Bending Spoons raised over $4 billion in funding in 2025 alone, a sign of a rather aggressive expansion strategy. Let's see.
Bending Spoons: Dead Startups and Living Giants
There's a detail that makes this story even more interesting. If, as we've already observed, 99% of AI startups will burn all their money by 2026Some brands once considered "dead" like AOL continue to generate hundreds of millions in cash flow. Bending Spoons has understood something many investors ignore: mature platforms with loyal user bases are more valuable than bloated startups with no revenue.
AOL isn't sexy. It doesn't promise 1000% growth. It doesn't use generative AI to reinvent the world. But it has thirty years of history, millions of users who aren't leaving, and a brand that's recognizable everywhere. In a landscape where AI startups fail before finding a sustainable business model, buying established assets seems like the smartest move.
Yahoo, for its part, sees the operation as an opportunity to focus on its core products, in particular… precisely in the field of artificial intelligenceAfter Verizon and Apollo, AOL finally has a stable home. Milan, to be precise.
And the feeling is that this time it could stay there, in the shadow of the Madunina, for a long time.
