Microsoft Reportedly Tried to Buy The Pinterest

Software giant, Microsoft Corp. made overtures to acquire the social network Pinterest Inc. in recent months, The Financial Times recently reported. Surprisingly! Microsoft reportedly held talks with Pinterest in an attempt to buy the social network, though the talks are “currently not active.” but if the deal had took place, it would have been Microsoft’s biggest to date, given Pinterest is valued at $51 billion.

The acquisition talks are not currently active, the FT reported, adding that in the past Pinterest has signaled its preference to remain an independent company. The FT reported that Microsoft’s acquisition strategy is targeting active online communities that it can pair with its cloud platform.

Pinterest has a current market valuation of about $50 billion, bolstered by a 36% rise in its shares over the past three months. The online-pinboard platform has boomed during the pandemic, as users have had more time on their hands. Over the past 12 months, Pinterest shares are up 239%. and last week, Pinterest reported it added 100 million new users in 2020, and posted 76% growth in year-over-year quarterly revenue.

A deal would have likely been Microsoft’s largest acquisition ever, about twice as big as its $26 billion purchase of LinkedIn in 2016, but also likely would have drawn scrutiny by antitrust regulators. Microsoft shares MSFT, +0.69% are up 9% year to date, and up 31% over the past year, compared to a 6% annual gain by the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.02%, of which it is a component.

Microsoft’s potential interest in Pinterest could signal an emerging strategy for its continued cloud push, though. The Windows maker has been trying to convince more big online services to use its Azure cloud offerings. Amazon’s AWS dominates this part of the market, and big names like Pinterest could draw in additional Azure customers.

It’s an approach we saw Microsoft attempt with TikTok. While not successful, a TikTok deal would have offered Microsoft valuable data and an outlet for its myriad of other services, and also act as a giant ad for its partners and resellers that try to convince businesses to go with Azure and not AWS.

Microsoft has acquired some significant companies under CEO Satya Nadella. A $7.5 billion deal saw GitHub join Microsoft a few years back, and Microsoft’s $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn was Nadella’s first major acquisition. Microsoft is also in the late stages of finalizing its Bethesda acquisition, valued at $7.5 billion.