MILAN, Aug 3 (Reuters) - NB Renaissance has invested in Milan-based mobile app developer Bending Spoons to help the company expand in a fast-growing market, including through merger and acquisition deals, the private equity firm said on Thursday. Bending Spoons is one of the world's top app providers with 500 million downloads and 100 million active users a month. "In securing the deal, NB Renaissance leveraged its strong relationship with Bending Spoons' founding team," it said, adding they had first worked together in 2019 on a potential U.S. acquisition deal. NB Renaissance did not disclose the size of the investment, saying only it had taken a minority stake, with NBR's senior partner Stefano Bontempelli appointed as member of the board. NB Renaissance is part of Neuberger Berman, a private, independent and employee-owned investment manager with $443 billion of assets under management.

---

Persons: NBR's, Stefano Bontempelli, Cherry, Neuberger Berman, Valentina Za, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: MILAN, Cherry, Cherry Bay Capital Group, Banco, Engineering, Thomson Locations: Milan, Cherry Bay, Inetum