Topline
PayPal is not pursuing an acquisition of social media company Pinterest, the digital payments giant announced in a statement Monday, putting a stop to days of speculation over what could have been one of the internet industry’s largest deals in years.
PayPal was reportedly in talks to acquire Pinterest.
Key Facts
PayPal said it is not pursuing a deal to acquire Pinterest “at this time,” according to a single-sentence statement Monday.
The denial is a direct response to “market rumors” the payment giant was in talks to acquire Pinterest, PayPal said.
The deal, first reported by Bloomberg last week, would have reportedly valued Pinterest at around $45 billion and been PayPal’s biggest acquisition since it bought coupon company Honey for $4 billion in 2019.
Key Background
A deal between Pinterest and PayPal would take payments giant one step closer to becoming a super app in the vein of China’s WeChat, a one-stop-shop seamlessly integrating social media and commerce. At the moment, super apps have only gained significant traction in China, where they have become a ubiquitous (and almost required) part of everyday life. Tech giants are racing to build the next super app. PayPal—alongside other platforms like Facebook, Google and Twitter—has made its ambitions here clear, and the Pinterest rumors follow a string of acquisitions to expand its offerings in cryptocurrencies, messaging and finance.
Further Reading
Why PayPal wants to buy Pinterest (Quartz)
PayPal Says It’s Currently Not Pursuing Pinterest Deal (Bloomberg)
PayPal’s Dan Schulman on seizing the opportunities in digital payments (FT)
