PayPal’s Pinterest Pursuit Set to Tip 2021 Into Record M&A Year

PayPal Holdings Inc.’s pursuit of social media company Pinterest Inc. is poised to push 2021 over the line to become the busiest-ever year for mergers and acquisitions.

PayPal has been discussing a roughly $45 billion purchase of Pinterest, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday. With global deal volumes currently sitting at $4.07 trillion so far this year, an agreement would bring the tally beyond 2007’s previous record of $4.11 trillion, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The potential acquisition of Pinterest would unite PayPal, one of the biggest online payment providers, with a social media company that’s increasingly pushing into e-commerce. It’s ...