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# Buy Low, Cut Deep, Repeat
- URL: https://www.theinvestorsociety.com/buy-low-cut-deep-repeat/
- Published: 2026-08-07T13:58:12.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-07T13:58:12.000Z
- Author: Jose Kont
- Tags: The Daily Dealflow

Hi, and welcome to a new edition of [The Daily Dealflow](https://www.theinvestorsociety.com/tag/the-daily-dealflow/) — the 5-minute briefing that gives you clear context on capital flows and market-moving trends across the Americas, from Silicon Valley to Buenos Aires. Let's dive in.

## 🏆 Deal of the Day

Bending Spoons, the Nasdaq-listed Milan software conglomerate led by CEO Luca Ferrari, signed a definitive agreement to acquire San Francisco's Airtable in an all-cash deal valuing it at $1.285B in enterprise value (\~$2.25B implied equity value) — its first acquisition since its July IPO – [The Investor Society](https://www.theinvestorsociety.com/bending-spoons-to-buy-airtable-for-1-28b-in-first-post-ipo-acquisition/).

**Why This?**: It's the clearest data point yet on how the 2021 software boom is unwinding, and it puts a widely used American enterprise tool — 80% of the Fortune 100 runs on it — under new European ownership.

**Positive Context**:

- Airtable still carries $480M in ARR growing above 20% year-over-year, with 500,000+ organizations running workflows on it — the business keeps growing even as the price cratered.
- Bending Spoons has lifted revenue per employee from $1.12M to $2.57M since 2023 through this exact playbook, and says it has identified 1,000+ acquisition targets worth $400B in combined revenue.

**Yes, but**:

- The price is under 3x ARR for a business growing above 20% — a multiple normally reserved for declining companies, signaling doubt that no-code tools survive AI's rise.
- Bending Spoons' track record is blunt: roughly 75% of WeTransfer's staff and nearly all of Evernote's were cut after acquisition.

![Source: Saastr.ai](https://storage.ghost.io/c/40/72/4072b0a5-dd13-4755-b3a4-f7b56403df30/content/images/2026/08/airtable.jpeg)

Source: Saastr.ai

**Zoom in**: Airtable peaked at an $11B valuation in its December 2021 Series F, backed by Salesforce and Michael Dell — this deal prices it about 80% below that high.

> **"Partnering with Bending Spoons gives us the resources and long-term commitment needed to pursue our vision."* — Howie Liu, Airtable co-founder and CEO,* [*The Investor Society*](https://www.theinvestorsociety.com/bending-spoons-to-buy-airtable-for-1-28b-in-first-post-ipo-acquisition/)

## 💰 Venture Capital

RWX (US) – $12M, Series A, development cloud where engineers and AI coding agents build, test, and validate software – [The Investor Society](https://www.theinvestorsociety.com/rwx-raises-12m-series-a-to-expand-its-dev-cloud-for-ai-driven-engineering/)

Lumilens (US) – $700M+, Series C, optical-interconnect platform for AI data-center networking, emerging from stealth at a $5.51B valuation – [FinSMEs](https://www.finsmes.com/2026/08/lumilens-raises-over-700m-in-series-c-funding.html?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).

Advocate Technologies (US) – $18M, Seed, commercial insurance benchmarking platform that standardizes policy pricing and coverage data for professionals – [The Investor Society](https://www.theinvestorsociety.com/advocate-technologies-launches-with-18m-to-bring-price-transparency-to-commercial-insurance/)

Naïve (US) – $28.5M, Series A, API platform bundling payments, cloud infrastructure and incorporation so AI agents can run autonomous businesses – [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/06/naive-raises-28-5m-to-automate-the-grunt-work-of-setting-up-and-running-a-company/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).

Ambrook (US) – $30M, Series B ($59M+ total funding), accounting and payments software expanding from farms into trucking, construction, and real estate – [The Investor Society](https://www.theinvestorsociety.com/ambrook-raises-30m-series-b-led-by-lachy-groom-as-it-expands-beyond-farming/)

![Waymo is worth almost as much as Uber despite generating only a tiny fraction of its revenue. This is not a comparison of current performance; it is a bet on which company could capture the future value of autonomous mobility. Source: Carbon Finance.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/40/72/4072b0a5-dd13-4755-b3a4-f7b56403df30/content/images/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-07-at-7.34.17---AM.png)

Waymo is worth almost as much as Uber despite generating only a tiny fraction of its revenue. This is not a comparison of current performance; it is a bet on which company could capture the future value of autonomous mobility. Source: Carbon Finance.

## 🏛️ Private Equity

Hot Topic, BoxLunch & Her Universe (US) – $350M, buyout/exit, Sycamore Partners sold the retail trio to Spencer's parent after 13 years of ownership, combining six brands under one roof – [ROI-NJ](https://www.roi-nj.com/2026/08/06/industry/retail/spencer-spirit-holdings-to-buy-hot-topic-expanding-footprint-to-over-3000-locations/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).

Brava Energia (Colombia/Brazil) – $521M, control acquisition, Ecopetrol's Brazilian unit bought 25% of the Rio-listed oil producer at auction, lifting its stake to 51% – [The Rio Times](https://www.riotimesonline.com/ecopetrol-brava-energia-control-521-million/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).

YPF (Argentina) – $405M combined, carve-out, divested two mature Mendoza/La Pampa conventional-oil clusters to Grupo Álvarez–Integra Capital and a Pecom-linked vehicle to fund its Vaca Muerta shale push – [Infobae](https://www.infobae.com/economia/2026/08/06/ypf-vendio-dos-bloques-petroleros-en-mendoza-por-usd-405-millones-para-financiar-su-expansion-en-vaca-muerta/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).

MP Global Packaging (US) – undisclosed, bolt-on acquisition, Warburg Pincus-backed Pregis acquired a cold-chain and thermal-packaging business with two Midwest plants – [BusinessWire](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260806537374/en/Pregis-Acquires-MP-Global-Packaging-Cold-Chain-and-Thermal-Packaging-Business?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).

## 📈 Public & Capital Markets

![Opening Market Figures, Fri 7 Aug, 2026.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/40/72/4072b0a5-dd13-4755-b3a4-f7b56403df30/content/images/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-07-at-7.51.53---AM.png)

Opening Market Figures, Fri 7 Aug, 2026.

Robinhood Ventures Fund II (US) – $200M, IPO, closed-end venture fund giving retail investors exposure to 80 early-stage private companies – [The Investor Society](https://www.theinvestorsociety.com/robinhood-seeks-200m-for-second-venture-fund-holding-80-private-companies/)

Braveheart Bio (US) – $382.5M, IPO, a16z-backed cardiac-drug developer priced above range and jumped 66% in its Nasdaq debut – [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-06/a16z-backed-braveheart-bio-soars-68-after-382-5-million-ipo?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).

Fiserv (US) – earnings, the payments giant cut its FY26 profit forecast after a Q2 miss, sending shares down nearly 12% – [AOL](https://www.aol.com/articles/payments-firm-fiserv-cuts-annual-123901000.html?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).

Cloudflare (US) – earnings, Q2 revenue and EPS beat estimates and management raised full-year guidance, sending shares up 15% after hours – [StockStory](https://stockstory.org/us/stocks/nyse/net/news/earnings/cloudflare-nysenet-reports-bullish-q2-cy2026-stock-jumps-149percent?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).

## 📅 ICYMI

**On this day in 2017:** Netflix made its first-ever acquisition, buying Mark Millar's comic-book studio Millarworld for roughly $31M to build owned franchises like Jupiter's Legacy – [Fortune](https://fortune.com/2017/08/07/netflix-millarworld?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).

**Iran:** A deal between Iran and Oman to control the Strait of Hormuz is reportedly in its final stages, but [a draft of the plan](https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/aug/06/iran-oman-strait-of-hormuz-yemen-houthis-israel-lebanon-gaza-us-donald-trump-middle-east-crisis-live-news?ref=theinvestorsociety.com) states that US and Israeli ships would not be allowed to transit the waterway, and ships belonging to countries that have attacked Iran would be barred until reparations were paid.

**Foreign markets:** are outperforming their US counterparts for the first time in years.Wall Street says the trend will continue, so here are [33 international stocks](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/33-stocks-to-bet-on-foreign-markets-continuing-to-beat-the-s-p-500-7d63dabc?ref=theinvestorsociety.com) analysts recommend.

**Economy:** Initial jobless claims fell below 200,000 for a third week in a row—the first time that’s happened [since 1969](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/layoffs-fall-to-the-lowest-level-since-the-u-s-put-men-on-the-moon-heres-what-that-says-about-the-economy-71f7bd23?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).  
  
*See you on monday,*

[***Jose Kont***](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jose-kont/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com)  
*The human behind The Investor Society.*

*Submit a deal for The Daily Dealflow newsletter via DM* [*here on LinkedIn*](https://www.linkedin.com/company/theinvestorsociety/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com)*.*