I get the complaining but very profitable businesses don't sell themselves to Bending Spoons.

Typically Bending Spoons buys a successful product with lots of user by a company that couldn't control the spending, took too much investment and sells so that investors can recoup some of the money.

Great product, badly managed business.

This might not apply to Harvest. The details of their business before acquisition or the sale price are not public but logic dictates that the business wasn't doing that well, and owners sold it to salvage as much as possible or it was doing well and owners sold to get a big, one-time paycheck and be free from day to day drudgery of running a company.

I always wonder: why couldn't the management of the company that sold to Bending Spoons do what Bending Spoons does.

It's not rocket science: reduce the cost and increase revenue (by increasing prices)?