MILAN, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Italian tech company Bending

Spoons said on Wednesday it will acquire AOL from Yahoo, which

is backed by Apollo Global Management ( APO ), adding a storied

internet brand to its growing portfolio of digital businesses.

Bending Spoons said it secured a $2.8 billion debt financing

package to support the acquisition, as well as investments in

research and development and future M&A activity.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Sources familiar with the matter had told Reuters that Yahoo was

nearing the sale of AOL to Bending Spoons for $1.4 billion when

it reported on the likely transaction on October 1.

NEW CHAPTER FOR AOL

"AOL is an important and beloved business with a brand that

has stood the test of time," Bending Spoons said in a statement

to Reuters.

"It has strong fundamentals - high subscriber retention

and, with around 30 million monthly and 8 million daily active

users, excellent engagement," it said, adding that AOL ranks

among the top 10 most used email apps globally.

Milan-based Bending Spoons has emerged as one of Europe's

most prominent technology firms, with a strategy of purchasing

struggling tech companies and revamping them.

The deal marks a fresh chapter for AOL, the one-time giant

of the internet age, known for its email service and "You've Got

Mail" notification.

AOL was at the centre of the biggest merger in history at

the time when it combined with Time Warner in 2000 but the

mega-deal resulted in regulatory probes and writedowns.

SERIES OF ACQUISITIONS

The announcement of the AOL deal comes one month after

Bending Spoons entered a definitive agreement to acquire video

platform Vimeo.

The latest financing package was provided by a consortium of

leading banks including Banco BPM, BNP Paribas, CACIB Crédit

Agricole, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, JP Morgan,

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho, Société Générale,

UniCredit, and Wells Fargo.

The round brings Bending Spoons' total debt funding in 2025

to around $4 billion, the company said.

Bending Spoons, whose products count 300 million monthly

users, has made a series of acquisitions recently, including

file-sharing service WeTransfer, note-taking tool Evernote and

photo editor Remini.

Bankers see the firm as a candidate for an initial public

offering (IPO) in the U.S.