PayPal wants to buy Pinterest for $ 45 billion

According to information from the financial news magazine Bloomberg, PayPal has turned to the social media platform Pinterest with a takeover offer. The fintech is said to have offered 45 billion US dollars.

It’s a deal that amazes at first sight. The online payment service PayPal is said to be interested in the social media service Pinterest. A takeover offer with a volume of up to 45 billion dollars is pending according to Bloomberg in the room. Sources familiar with the incident are said to have confirmed that a takeover price of $ 70 per share is being negotiated – an increase of 26 percent on Tuesday’s closing price, which was around $ 55. This would actually value Pinterest as a whole company, including the B shares in circulation, at $ 45 billion. After the IPO in 2019, the company’s value was just under ten billion dollars.

Pinterest and Paypal – at the interface between retail and consumer

Paypal’s interest in Pinterest is likely to result from the fact that the social media service has established itself over the years as a reliable source of consumer tips, which some e-commerce websites have now become indispensable as an important lead generator. In doing so, Pinterest’s various attempts to integrate payments and purchases more directly on his website had only moderate success.

Paypal is establishing itself precisely at the interface between consumers and retailers, i.e. where Pinterest is located. It seems conceivable that PayPal, which was integrated with Ebay until 2015, will try to reinstall a similar integration. A takeover could therefore make sense.

For Pinterest, the deal comes at the right time. Co-founder Evan Sharp has just left the platform. Employees accuse the company of racism and discrimination and had already initiated strikes and petitions in the summer of last year. A safe haven under the umbrella of the more than 300 billion dollar payment service provider Paypal could at least give the service the stamina to free itself from its difficult situation. In addition, PayPal would deliver the commerce aspect, which could not be integrated on its own, free of charge.

The investors of the successful PayPal did not like the news of the potential takeover. In an obvious reaction to the potential deal, PayPal stock fell nearly six percent. That shouldn’t be a major burden for fintech. After all, in the wake of the online shopping boom caused by the pandemic, PayPal was able to double its share price within a year.

Pinterest stock moved in the opposite direction. After the rumors became known, their price increased by thirteen percent to around $ 63.

If the takeover takes place, the title of the M&A record year (mergers and acquisitions, mergers and acquisitions) should no longer be taken from 2021. In the process, some of the biggest mergers this year have reshaped entire industries – including the merger of AT&T and Discovery into a $ 130 billion entertainment giant. Neither PayPal nor Pinterest have yet commented on the rumors.