Eventbrite’s $500 Million Sale to Bending Spoons Draws Challenge

Eventbrite Inc.'s founders are trying to trick investors into supporting its $500 million sale to Italian tech conglomerate Bending Spoons SpA, according to a lawsuit filed Monday seeking to halt the transaction.

Two shareholders sued the events giant, saying CEO Julia Hartz and her husband, co-founder Kevin Hartz, filed misleading disclosures about a deal structure that would force them to obtain additional support from public investors. Although the Hartzes held majority control as of early December, their pledge to support the sale triggered the automatic conversion of their 10-vote class B shares into ordinary stock, according to the ...