Whizord Network: PayPal in $45 billion bid for Pinterest

Whizord Network: PayPal in $45 billion bid for Pinterest
PayPal Holdings Inc (PYPL.O) has offered to buy digital pinboard site Pinterest Inc (PINS.N) for $45 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, a combination that could herald more financial technology and social media tie-ups in e-ecommerce.

It would be the biggest acquisition of a social media company, surpassing Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) $26.2 billion purchase of LinkedIn in 2016.

The deal talks come as internet shoppers increasingly buy items they see on social media, often following "influencers" on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. Acquiring Pinterest would allow PayPal to capture more of that e-commerce growth and diversify its income though advertising revenue.

PayPal has offered $70 per share, mostly in stock, for Pinterest, one of the sources said. The online payments provider hopes to successfully negotiate and announce a deal by the time it reports quarterly earnings on Nov. 8, the source added.

The sources cautioned that no deal was certain and terms could change. They asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential.

PayPal and Pinterest did not respond to requests for comment. Bloomberg News first reported on the companies' talks on Wednesday.

PayPal shares fell 4.9% to close at $258.36, while Pinterest shares jumped 12.8% to $62.68.

"(The) combination would be a significant positive for PayPal's ongoing monetization initiatives on both sides of its merchant and consumer platforms, especially if Pinterest's social commerce platform gets integrated with Honey's AI into PayPal's destination app," Wedbush analysts wrote in a note.

The payments behemoth was among the big winners of the COVID-19 pandemic, as more people used its services to shop online and pay bills to avoid stepping out. Its shares have risen about 36% in the last 12 months, giving it a market capitalization of nearly $320 billion.

Pinterest was valued at about $13 billion when it went public in 2019. It also saw a huge spike in users looking for crafts and DIY project ideas, as lockdown curbs kept people at home.

As lockdowns eased, Pinterest has warned about slowing user growth, especially in the United States, its largest market. It has said it expects revenue growth mainly through deeper engagement with existing users rather than signing up new ones.



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