AOL vs Hearst

Bending Spoons Raises $1.68 Billion in Nasdaq IPO

Bending Spoons S.p.A., the Milan-based technology company known for acquiring and transforming established software brands, has priced its initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Select Market at $29.00 per share, above the initial range of $26 to $28. The company is offering about 58 million shares, including around 34.4 million new shares, to raise approximately $1.68 billion. The IPO values Bending Spoons at about $18.4 billion and will list under the ticker 'BSP'. CEO Luca Ferrari describes the model as a hybrid of a private equity firm and Google, targeting companies with loyal user bases and significant revenue. Since November of last year, Bending Spoons has invested about $4 billion in acquisitions, including AOL, Vimeo, Evernote, Eventbrite, WeTransfer, Brightcove, and Tractive.

• Bending Spoons priced its IPO at $29.00 per share, above the $26–$28 range.
• The company plans to raise about $1.68 billion by offering approximately 58 million shares, including 34.4 million new shares.
• The IPO values Bending Spoons at about $18.4 billion; shares will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker 'BSP'.

Walmart's Vibe Deal: Meta or Another AOL?

Walmart completed its acquisition of Vibe.co, a self-serve CTV platform, and the deal has prompted discussion about whether Walmart can build a successful advertising walled garden or repeat past failures. The opinion piece argues the combination of Walmart’s retail data, Vibe’s CTV capability and Walmart’s prior TV play via Vizio could create a connected retail-media + CTV ecosystem that drives measurable outcomes for advertisers. The author warns that convenience and self-serve buying alone do not guarantee long-term advantage — scale, audience ownership, cross-platform measurement and deliberate strategy are required to make a walled garden valuable rather than limiting. The article frames the acquisition as a test of whether Walmart’s approach will emulate Meta’s success or become another AOL-like cautionary tale for closed ecosystems.

• Walmart completed the acquisition of Vibe.co; the deal "closed last week."
• Vibe.co operates a self-serve CTV platform aimed at making streaming TV easier for smaller and midsize advertisers.
• Walmart previously moved into the TV screen via Vizio.

Community Project Revives ICQ as 'ICQ Reborn'

ICQ was permanently discontinued on June 26, 2024. A community project, ICQ Reborn, revives the classic ICQ experience—UINs, the iconic "Uh‑oh" sound and a 2002-style interface—and is distributed as a free Windows client (v1.3); there is no official mobile app yet. The project is an independent, fan-run effort not affiliated with the official ICQ owners (Mail.ru Group) and is presented as a nostalgic tech hobby rather than a modern messaging competitor. ICQ Reborn runs on a private XMPP server and currently lacks end-to-end encryption, which, along with potential stability limitations, raises security concerns; users are advised not to share sensitive information on the service.

• ICQ, previously owned by AOL and sold to Mail.ru Group in 2010, was permanently discontinued on 2024-06-26.
• A community project named ICQ Reborn recreates ICQ's classic UI, UINs and the iconic "Uh‑oh" notification sound.
• ICQ Reborn is available as a free Windows application (version v1.3); no official mobile version is currently available.

Hearst Newspapers, San Francisco Chronicle & USLege Launch Capitol Confidential Pro

Hearst Newspapers, San Francisco Chronicle & USLege launch Capitol Confidential Pro, a new product with searchable government video transcripts and Sacramento political reporting and analysis.

Hearst Newspapers, San Francisco Chronicle & USLege Launch Capitol Confidential Pro With Searchable Government Video Transcripts & Sacramento Political Reporting & Analysis

Hearst Newspapers, San Francisco Chronicle and USLege have launched Capitol Confidential Pro, a new product offering searchable government video transcripts and Sacramento political reporting and analysis.

Hearst Newsroom: Capitol Confidential Pro Launch, A+E Global Media Acquisition, and More

The Hearst news page now features a new press release about the launch of Capitol Confidential Pro, a collaboration between Hearst Newspapers, San Francisco Chronicle, and USLege. Additionally, the page highlights the recent announcement that A+E Global Media will become a wholly owned Hearst business, along with other corporate updates.