PayPal Inc said late Sunday that it is not interested in buying Pinterest Inc at this time, despite media reports that the payments company was in talks to buy the digital pinboard site for up to $45 billion.
Last Wednesday, Bloomberg News initially reported on the firms’ talks, which were later confirmed by Reuters. PayPal had offered $70 per share, largely in stock, for Pinterest, according to a source at the time.
Sources told Reuters, however, that no deal was guaranteed and that the parameters could change.
A deal would have been the largest acquisition of a social network business at the estimated price, topping Microsoft Corp’s $26.2 billion purchase of LinkedIn in 2016.
PayPal did not disclose any other specifics in its statement, although its London depositary interests were up 5.2 percent by 0730 GMT on Monday following the announcement.
Requests for comment from both companies were likewise ignored.
Paypal, one of the big pandemic winners, has made a few acquisitions this year, including the $2.7 billion purchase of Japanese BNPL firm Paidy.
In May, it paid an unknown price for Happy Returns, a business that lets online buyers return undesired products, to enhance its e-commerce services and follow up on its $4 billion purchase of online coupon finder Honey Science in 2019.
Pinterest is facing a fork in the road after co-founder Evan Sharp revealed earlier this month that he will leave his position as chief creative officer to join LoveFrom, a company helmed by Jony Ive, the creator of several Apple Inc products.
Paypal’s stock has dropped roughly 11.5 percent since the news of the discussions broke, while Pinterest’s stock has risen by 4.5 percent.
