PayPal says it's not pursuing Pinterest

PayPal was reportedly seeking a deal to buy Pinterest for $45B

PayPal Inc. will not pursue a deal for Pinterest Inc., the payments company said on Sunday evening.

Reports out Wednesday said PayPal was pursuing a deal to buy Pinterest for $45 billion, or $70 per share, mostly in stock. A deal of that size would have topped Microsoft’s $26.2 billion purchase of LinkedIn for the biggest acquisition of a social media company.   

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
PYPL PAYPAL HOLDINGS INC. 64.84 +0.41 +0.64%
PINS PINTEREST INC. 32.85 -0.17 -0.51%

PayPal "is not pursuing an acquisition of Pinterest at this time," the company said on its website on Sunday evening. 

Pinterest representatives did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment. 

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PayPal shares, which declined 12% over the previous three trading sessions, rose more than 5% on Monday. Pinterest shares tumbled 15% after initially surging 13% on the news and then giving up most of those gains by Friday’s close. 

PayPal last month announced a deal to purchase the Japanese "buy now, pay later" firm Paidly for 300 billion Japanese yen, or $2.7 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.