• Both the companies have currently kept the acquisition talks on hold.
• Reportedly, Pinterest is currently valued at USD 51 billion.

In a recent turn of events, Washington-based technology mogul Microsoft Corp. approached social media giant Pinterest Inc., manifesting its interest in acquiring the latter.

It appears that Microsoft intends to boost its cloud computing service offering by acquiring Pinterest. However, the apparent talks are currently on hold, cited sources with relevant information.

It is to be noted that California-based Pinterest Inc. is currently valued at USD 51 billion. With the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to lockdowns and social distancing norms across the globe, a shift from physical interaction to virtual interaction has been observed.

An upsurge in social media engagements has provided a significant boost to Pinterest, with a 37% rise in monthly active users, totaling 459 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Moreover, Pinterest claims to have reached 100 million monthly active users in 2020. In this context, seasoned analysts stated that the social networking platform had hit rock-bottom in March last year as pandemic fastened its grip around the global economy, from where Pinterest’s shares multiplied seven-fold.

For the record, Pinterest Inc. had earlier signaled that they want to stand independently. The company garners revenues by showing advertisements alongside the posts and pins uploaded by the users on the platform.

Neither Microsoft nor Pinterest was available for a comment on the matter.

Speaking of profitable tactics incorporated by giants, Microsoft Corp. recently announced an extension of its partnership with German automotive behemoth Volkswagen AG.  The move will reportedly accelerate the automated driving project for Volkswagen.

As per the official statement by the German automaker, the two firms will combinedly develop a cloud-based platform to simplify development processes, while ensuing faster integration into the vehicle fleet.

Source Credits –

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pinterest-m-a-microsoft/microsoft-approached-pinterest-in-recent-months-about-potential-deal-ft-idUSKBN2AB05C