Microsoft Corp. in recent months has reached out to Pinterest Inc. to buy, the Financial Times reported Wednesday evening.
The takeover talks are currently not running, the FT reported, adding that Pinterest has preferred to remain an independent company in the past. The FT reported that Microsoft’s acquisition strategy focuses on active online communities it can connect to its cloud platform.
Pinterest PINS,
has a current market valuation of approximately $ 50 billion, supported by a 36% rise in its stock in the past three months. The online bulletin board platform grew tremendously during the pandemic as users had more time to spare. In the past 12 months, Pinterest shares are up 239%.
Last week, Pinterest reported that it had added 100 million new users by 2020 and posted a 76% growth in quarter-over-year revenue.
A deal would likely have been Microsoft’s largest acquisition ever, about twice the size of LinkedIn’s $ 26 billion purchase in 2016, but would likely have also been under scrutiny by antitrust regulators.
Microsoft shares MSFT,
are up 9% to date and are up 31% over the past year, compared to an annual gain of 6% by the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
of which it is a part.