Eventbrite’s $500M Exit to Bending Spoons: What It Means for Event Tech – and for Eventbrite Users Working with Xtag

Eventbrite just agreed to be acquired by Bending Spoons in an all-cash deal worth roughly $500 million. Under the agreement, Eventbrite shareholders receive $4.50 per share and the company will go private once the deal closes.

For so many years, opening a registration form in Eventbrite was almost like jumping on a Zoom call during the pandemic. It was the default. You did not have to explain it.

So seeing a brand that strong sell for around half a billion dollars feels strange. From the outside it looks like a bargain for a product that basically defined the self-serve ticketing category.

As a founder in event tech, I have mixed feelings. As the founder of Xtag, a global onsite badge printing and event check-in platform fully integrated with Eventbrite, I also see a very clear message for organisers who rely on Eventbrite for registration.

Quick recap of the deal

Bending Spoons is a Milan-based technology group that has been very active in acquiring established software products. With Eventbrite, the headline points are simple:

• Buyer: Bending Spoons
• Target: Eventbrite, the global self-serve event and ticketing platform
• Deal value: around $500 million in cash
• Shareholder terms: $4.50 per share, roughly an 80% premium on the previous closing price
• Next step: Eventbrite becomes a private company after the deal is approved and closed

It is not a tiny number, but for such a famous product it is also not a huge multiple. That is exactly why founders, investors and event professionals are paying attention.

Why the price feels low for such a big brand

Eventbrite is one of those names that almost became a verb:

• “Just put it on Eventbrite.”
• “Send me the Eventbrite link.”

Millions of organisers and attendees know it. The product is simple, recognisable and trusted.

At IPO in 2018, Eventbrite was valued at around $1.8 billion. A few years later, the company is selling for roughly a third of that number. For anyone building in event tech, this is a reminder that a strong brand does not automatically translate into a strong multiple, especially when investor attention has moved to other categories.

The Bending Spoons playbook: lean and efficient

Bending Spoons has a clear approach to the products it buys. They look for:

• Products that already have product-market fit and loyal users
• Strong brands that people recognise instantly
• Self-serve models that do not require heavy support

The strategy after acquisition is usually straightforward: make the business much leaner, more efficient and more focused on subscription revenue.

In practice that often means more efficiency, higher ARPU, tighter free tiers and fewer people supporting a very large user base. From an investor perspective it makes a lot of sense. For organisers and vendors who rely on these tools every day, it introduces a new layer of uncertainty.

What this says about event tech as a category

Right now, the buzzwords investors love are AI, cyber and deep tech. Event technology is not at the top of that list.

This deal sends a mixed message. On one side, a serious technology group is willing to pay cash for a ticketing platform, which proves events and ticketing still have real long-term value. On the other side, a huge brand like Eventbrite is clearly not priced like the hot AI companies everyone is talking about.

My own view is simple: I personally think events are one of the best playgrounds when AI is taking over the virtual world. In-person events generate a massive amount of real-world data – registrations, check-ins, session attendance, lead capture, movement flows – and there is a lot of room for AI to help planners, exhibitors and attendees make better decisions.

Whether more VCs and private equity funds will see it that way is still an open question.

The opportunity for other event platforms

I do not believe the opportunity now is to “build a new Eventbrite”. Eventbrite serves a wide mix of use cases:

• Small local meetups
• Classes and workshops
• Consumer festivals
• Mid-sized conferences
• Some very large B2B events

If pricing changes or the product shifts under new ownership, there is space for more focused tools to win specific slices of the market. For example:

• Field marketing programs and roadshows
• Partner events and user conferences
• Internal corporate events
• Higher-end B2B conferences that need deeper integrations and richer data

Enterprise-focused platforms like Cvent, and mid-market platforms like Swoogo with their field marketing tools, are well positioned to capture organizers who decide to move certain event types away from pure self-serve ticketing.

Where Xtag fits: this is not only a B2C story

Many people still see Eventbrite as a B2C or prosumer tool for yoga classes, concerts and meetups. In reality, we see a very different side of it every day at Xtag.

We work with serious B2B organisers who:

• Run events with thousands and even tens of thousands of attendees
• Use Eventbrite as their main registration system
• Rely on the Xtag–Eventbrite integration for on-demand onsite badge printing, check-in and session tracking across multiple days and venues

For these organisers, the questions are very concrete:

• Will Eventbrite still fit our volume and budget if pricing changes?
• Will support and reliability stay at the level we need?
• Will our Xtag integration with Eventbrite continue to be stable and supported?

This is exactly where Xtag is designed to be a safe partner.

Xtag is a global leader in onsite badge printing, check-in and tracking, fully integrated with Eventbrite. We are platform-agnostic and already connect to a long list of registration and event platforms. We focus on the most exposed part of the attendee journey: the moment people arrive, check in and receive their badge.

If you are running large events on Eventbrite, using Xtag as your onsite layer gives you flexibility. If at some point you decide to move certain events to another registration platform, your onsite workflows, hardware and team training can stay exactly the same. Xtag becomes the constant, even if your registration stack evolves.

How Eventbrite organisers can prepare – with Xtag as a safety net

You cannot control what Bending Spoons will do next. You can control how prepared you are. A few practical steps:

1. Map your dependency on Eventbrite.
   List which events use Eventbrite for registration today and which of those already rely on the Xtag–Eventbrite integration for badge printing and check-in.
2. Standardise your onsite process around Xtag.
   Use Xtag as the consistent onsite layer across your portfolio. Whether an event uses Eventbrite, Cvent, Swoogo or another platform, your check-in, printers and badge flows stay the same.
3. Talk to us about contingency plans.
   If you are an existing Xtag client, speak with our team about “Plan B” scenarios: what happens if pricing or access changes and how quickly we can connect your events to an alternative registration tool if needed.
4. Avoid single-platform lock-in for critical moments.
   Let registration be flexible and onsite be stable. Xtag’s job is to make sure that whatever happens in the registration stack, check-in and badge printing just work.
5. Use this moment to review ROI.
   For large conferences and trade shows, this is a good time to ask whether pure self-serve ticketing still fits your needs or if you should combine it with more enterprise-grade tooling while keeping Xtag as your onsite constant.

Final thoughts: tools can change, your onsite experience should not

The acquisition of Eventbrite by Bending Spoons is a reminder of how quickly core tools in our industry can change direction. Ownership can change overnight. Pricing and tiers can be rewritten. Support models can shift.

You cannot stop that. But you can decide to work with onsite partners that:

• Are deeply integrated with Eventbrite today
• Are ready to move with you if you adjust your registration strategy tomorrow
• Keep your badge printing and check-in experience stable, even while the registration layer evolves

That is the role Xtag plays for many organisers already: a global, battle-tested onsite badge printing and check-in solution, fully integrated with Eventbrite and other major platforms, focused on making the first few minutes of your event feel seamless and professional – no matter what happens behind the scenes.

If you are using Eventbrite today and want to de-risk your onsite experience, we would be happy to talk and share how other organizers are using Xtag as their onsite safety net.