Houlihan Lokey Advises Tractive

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Tractive, a global leader in location tracking and health monitoring for pets, has been acquired by Bending Spoons, a leading European technology company.

Tractive is a global leader in location tracking and health monitoring for pets. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Pasching, Austria, the company develops wearable devices and apps that enable pet owners to track their pets‘ location, activity, and health metrics. By combining GPS, cellular connectivity, and data analytics, Tractive helps make pet care smarter and gives millions of pet parents greater peace of mind.

Bending Spoons acquires and transforms digital businesses. It owns AOL, Brightcove, Eventbrite, Evernote, komoot, Meetup, Remini, StreamYard, Vimeo, WeTransfer, and many others. The company’s products have served more than a billion people, with over 400 million monthly active users and seven million monthly paying customers.

The transaction marks a new era for Tractive. While Tractive has built a strong and trusted reputation in the pet technology space independently, the partnership was formed to leverage Bending Spoons’ superior AI infrastructure and global scaling expertise—resources that will allow the product to evolve faster and reach more pet parents than Tractive could as a stand-alone entity. In choosing a partner for its next phase of growth, Tractive’s leadership prioritised long-term commitment and the opportunity to bring its unique hardware expertise into Bending Spoons’ world-class digital platform.

“While we saw significant international interest from various global players, we were determined to find a partner committed to growing and owning the business for the long run,” said Michael Hurnaus, CEO and Co-Founder of Tractive. “Most importantly, this allows the millions of pet parents who rely on Tractive to continue to enjoy peace of mind, knowing their furry family members are safe. Bending Spoons provides the capital, scaling expertise, and AI infrastructure to ensure that Tractive remains at the cutting edge for decades. This partnership keeps our innovation heart in Europe while gaining the muscle of Bending Spoons at large.”

The acquisition recognises Tractive’s evolution from an Austrian startup into a world-class organisation dedicated to building exceptional consumer products. From day one, its founders focused on building a smart, sustainable business model centred on the future of pet care, growing the company through a primarily bootstrapped approach by maintaining clear priorities and continuously reinvesting in growth.

“We have spent the past 13 years building Tractive from the ground up into a highly successful business that has kept millions of pets safe and made life easier for pet parents worldwide,” said Wolfgang Reisinger, COO of Tractive. “The foundation is rock-solid, and it is now the right time to pass the torch to a partner with significant expertise in scaling large consumer businesses to lead this next phase of growth.”

The acquisition represents an expansion for Bending Spoons into hardware-enabled software. Tractive’s deep domain expertise opens new technological territory for the group, complementing its strong software and AI capabilities. “Tractive has built an outstanding product that millions of customers trust every day, and we look forward to welcoming it into our portfolio,“ said Luca Ferrari, Bending Spoons CEO and Co-Founder. “We intend to invest significantly in Tractive for the long run—expanding its health and safety capabilities, developing next-generation devices, and making the product increasingly accessible to pet owners everywhere.”

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive sellside financial advisor to the shareholders of Tractive, supporting the successful completion of this landmark transaction. This deal represents another strong outcome in the pet tech sector, highlighting the continued momentum and innovation shaping the broader pet economy.

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