If completed, it would be one of the larger consumer internet deals this year.
PayPal, the digital payments company, has offered to buy Pinterest, the digital pinboard company, in a deal valued at about $45 billion, according to people with knowledge of the discussions. PayPal has offered around $70 a share for Pinterest, the people said, a 25 percent increase from Pinterest’s opening share price on Wednesday. Pinterest shares jumped about 13 percent following reports of the potential deal, bringing the company’s valuation to $39 billion, and trading on the New York Stock Exchange was halted twice on Wednesday. Bloomberg first reported the news of deal talks. A Pinterest spokeswoman declined to comment. PayPal did not respond to a request for comment. If a deal were to be completed, it would be one of the largest consumer internet purchases in recent history, exceeding Salesforce’s acquisition of Slack last year for $27.
