Sources: PayPal has approached Pinterest about an acquisition, potentially valuing it at $39B; Pinterest stock had dropped 16% this year but is up 10%+ today
Pinterest’s strategic value had been rising well before this approach: it was reportedly seeking funding at an $11B valuation in 2015 and was later preparing for a $12B-plus IPO valuation. A reported Microsoft approach earlier in 2021 put another potential buyer into the picture.
The PayPal discussions give Pinterest a fresh $39B valuation reference after a year-to-date share decline, even as its reported revenue and user growth showed a business still expanding. The later decision not to pursue Pinterest underscores that the talks were exploratory rather than a completed deal.
First-order effects
Pinterest shareholders receive an immediate $39B takeover benchmark, reflected in the stock’s more than 10% intraday rise.
PayPal must weigh a large acquisition against the uncertainty implied by Pinterest’s in-line sales outlook and lukewarm guidance.
Second-order effects
The reported approach renews pressure on other potential strategic buyers after Microsoft’s earlier interest, making Pinterest’s standalone valuation a more visible negotiating point.
A higher deal reference point strengthens Pinterest’s hand with investors, while making any buyer pay for its revenue growth and 640 million monthly active users rather than its recent share-price weakness alone.
Third-order effects
Repeated interest from large technology companies suggests Pinterest is being treated as a strategic asset whose value may exceed public-market pricing, though the later end to PayPal’s pursuit shows that interest does not guarantee a transaction.
If similar approaches continue, Pinterest’s market value will be shaped increasingly by strategic-buyer expectations alongside its advertising-growth outlook.
The trend: Large technology and payments companies are testing acquisitions of scaled consumer platforms when public-market valuations diverge from perceived strategic value.
I suppose if payment providers are going to get into content moderation they might as well... really get into content moderation! Ofc, this is... a CoMo issue! And payment providers have a history of being more risk averse than social networks https://www.nytimes.com/...
Also Pinterest has UNDERRATED features that make it prime for ecommerce like 1) the ability to search using your own images (image search) 2) try on filters that work IMPRESSIVELY well now pushing “creator” content and this will likely see them be able to monetize easily https://…
“a possible price that would value Pinterest at roughly $39 billion” Which just seems utterly wild since my primary interaction with Pinterest is to explicitly exclude Pinterest from my google results because it's so content free. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
If $PINS gets acquired by $PYPL, it would be disappointing because it has so much potential as a standalone company. The offer would be “mostly in stock.” If you are a shareholder, this means your $PINS shares would mostly convert into $PYPL. https://www.reuters.com/...
The curious thing about Pinterest is that neither the investors or employees use the product. Was talking to an engineer yesterday who was telling me nobody uses the product. Which may explain why they have not been able to broaden the user base. https://twitter.com/...
1/ First: PayPal rumored to be in acquisition talks with Pinterest to create a formidable *Content Fortress*: payments platform in a first-party feedback loop with an advertising platform, creating an ATT-compliant shopping experience to rival FB Shops https://www.nytimes.com/...
Schulman told analysts he envisioned PayPal becoming a “super app” that folds in numerous services and functions, like some apps in Asia. He outlined a “huge road map” for tools related to shopping, including “universal shopping carts.” W/ @eringriffith https://www.nytimes.com/..…
I don't get this deal. If money is burning a hole through PayPal's pocket pay a dividend instead of going all eBay/Skype on us. https://twitter.com/...
PayPal is never getting into the Amazon checkout flow, and ton of future e-commerce growth will come from discovery/social commerce...stuff you want vs stuff you need https://twitter.com/...
As someone who has invested in $PINS for the long term vision, I don't think this is a great deal for shareholders. I want to see management carryout their plans & I think $PINS could be the ultimate shopping app. This shows that Pinterest is not dead. Bidding war to come? https:…
Fintech companies are well-positioned to play a major role in social commerce Tagged shoppable content is one of the most important assets if you want to win social commerce. Pinterest has one of the largest libraries of tagged shoppable content! https://twitter.com/...
Some contxt: Pinterest was valued ~$35b at yesterday's close. -It was valued as high as $56b in Feb, around the time reports emerged that MSFT looked into buying it for $51b -Its avg, last 12-month valuation was $42b -all-time low: $6b in March 2020 (got big pandemic boost after)…
I love the idea of doing eBay and PayPal all over again, except this time PayPal might combine with a website where people don't actually buy things. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
*PAYPAL, PINTEREST HAVE DISCUSSED PRICE OF ABOUT $70/SHR: SOURCE My guess is someone is trying to smoke out MSFT, who was reportedly interested in the low $80s. https://twitter.com/...