Microsoft Corp. has made offers to buy Pinterest Inc. in the past few months, the Financial Times reported Wednesday night.
Acquisition negotiations are not active at the moment, FT reported, adding that in the past Pinterest has signaled its preference to remain an independent company. FT reported that Microsoft’s acquisition strategy targets active online communities that can be combined with its cloud platform.
Pinterest PINS,
has a current market valuation of around $ 50 billion, driven by a 36% increase in its shares in the past three months. The online pinboard platform grew rapidly during the pandemic, as users now have more time available. In the past 12 months, Pinterest shares have risen 239%.
Last week, Pinterest reported that it added 100 million new users in 2020 and recorded a 76% growth in quarterly revenue year on year.
One deal probably would have been Microsoft’s biggest acquisition to date, about twice as big as its $ 26 billion purchase from LinkedIn in 2016, but it also likely would have attracted scrutiny from antitrust regulators.
Microsoft shares MSFT,
increased 9% year-to-date and 31% over last year, compared to a 6% annual gain from the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
of which it is a component.