A rather big rumor that was brewing across the internet has now been shut down, with PayPal declaring that it is currently not interested in buying Pinterest.
Rumors spread far too easily over the internet, and are much harder to prove or even disprove than one's run of the mill town gossip. Either way, the Pinterest community had been nervous ever since news that the platform might be acquired by PayPal started making the rounds. Sure, sometimes acquisition is a good thing instead of a bad one. Facebook acquired WhatsApp and Instagram, they seem to be doing just fine. Minus the controversy surrounding the social network as a whole, that is, but this is a book that need not be opened.
Acquisition can often mean that a platform's features are heavily revised, the community's ability to be as vocal as they used to be can be suppressed, and worst of all, the acquired platform can be shut down with its team divided. A lot of users often complain that YouTube's algorithm and community policies took a big hit when Google acquired the company. Twitter's been taking the acquire and divide strategy with any number of platforms for years now. Rest in peace, Vine.
Therefore, the news that PayPal isn't looking to buy Pinterest probably came as a sigh of relief to the community at large. The finance tech company made a post on its website, stating that rumors regarding the matter needed to be quelled, and that PayPal isn't pursuing an acquisition of Pinterest "at this time". Now, the ending to that statement does raise a few eyebrows. Perhaps PayPal is very much still looking to acquire the platform, but is only biding its time. Or there lies the possibility that the entire deal went sideways, even as the companies reportedly entered the final stages of negotiation. Reports stated that PayPal valued the company at around USD $70 per share, putting Pinterest's worth at around a whopping USD $45 billion.
Such acquisitions are very expensive, and far too messy. Maybe PayPal is biding it's time, waiting for a more opportune moment to conclude negotiations. As it stands, however, Pinterest's shares fell by 12% after the announcement.
Read next: Pinterest Is Adding A New Watch Tab To Its Interface, And Is Also Very Close To Finishing An Acquisition Deal With PayPal
Rumors spread far too easily over the internet, and are much harder to prove or even disprove than one's run of the mill town gossip. Either way, the Pinterest community had been nervous ever since news that the platform might be acquired by PayPal started making the rounds. Sure, sometimes acquisition is a good thing instead of a bad one. Facebook acquired WhatsApp and Instagram, they seem to be doing just fine. Minus the controversy surrounding the social network as a whole, that is, but this is a book that need not be opened.
Acquisition can often mean that a platform's features are heavily revised, the community's ability to be as vocal as they used to be can be suppressed, and worst of all, the acquired platform can be shut down with its team divided. A lot of users often complain that YouTube's algorithm and community policies took a big hit when Google acquired the company. Twitter's been taking the acquire and divide strategy with any number of platforms for years now. Rest in peace, Vine.
Therefore, the news that PayPal isn't looking to buy Pinterest probably came as a sigh of relief to the community at large. The finance tech company made a post on its website, stating that rumors regarding the matter needed to be quelled, and that PayPal isn't pursuing an acquisition of Pinterest "at this time". Now, the ending to that statement does raise a few eyebrows. Perhaps PayPal is very much still looking to acquire the platform, but is only biding its time. Or there lies the possibility that the entire deal went sideways, even as the companies reportedly entered the final stages of negotiation. Reports stated that PayPal valued the company at around USD $70 per share, putting Pinterest's worth at around a whopping USD $45 billion.
Such acquisitions are very expensive, and far too messy. Maybe PayPal is biding it's time, waiting for a more opportune moment to conclude negotiations. As it stands, however, Pinterest's shares fell by 12% after the announcement.
Read next: Pinterest Is Adding A New Watch Tab To Its Interface, And Is Also Very Close To Finishing An Acquisition Deal With PayPal
