Bending Spoons to acquire AOL

European app developer Bending Spoons has reached an agreement to acquire AOL from Yahoo, which is controlled by Apollo Global Management, as part of a deal supported by $2.8 billion in debt financing. The transaction, announced Wednesday, is expected to close by the end of the year, pending regulatory review.

Bending Spoons’ co-founder and CEO Luca Ferrari called AOL “an enduring and respected brand with unrealized potential.” He noted that AOL remains among the world’s most-used email services, with roughly 8 million daily and 30 million monthly active users, and said the company plans to reinvest heavily in growing and improving the platform. Ferrari added that Bending Spoons has “never sold an acquisition,” underscoring its intent to serve AOL’s loyal user base for the long term.

The move had been anticipated after Reuters reported earlier this month that Yahoo was in advanced talks to sell AOL to Bending Spoons for around $1.4 billion.

The deal marks another chapter in AOL’s long and storied history. Once a dominant name in early internet culture — known for its email service and the iconic “You’ve Got Mail” alert — AOL has changed ownership several times, including stints under Time Warner (2001–2009) and Verizon Communications (2015–2021).

For Bending Spoons, the acquisition extends its pattern of reviving well-known U.S. tech brands, following previous takeovers of Evernote, Meetup, Vimeo, and other legacy digital platforms.