PayPal is exploring a $45 billion acquisition of social media platform Pinterest, according to sources reported by Bloomberg.

Pinterest, founded in 2009, has more than 450 million users worldwide and experienced rapid user growth over the pandemic.

The image sharing and social media website enables the saving and discovery of images, GIFs, and videos.

The news comes after the platform introduced new e-commerce focused features last week, allowing its “pins” to become more shoppable.

Collections on Pinterest can now include slideshows, allowing merchants to create video-like shoppable ad experiences via catalog integrations.

The reported price of $70 per share would represent a 26 per cent premium on Pinterest’s closing price on Tuesday according to the sources.

PayPal has continued to expand the features offered by its platform this year; in August, it launched a new service that enables UK customers to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency.

PayPal has also been active in terms using acquisition to move into new markets; in September, it agreed to buy Japanese Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) provider Paidy in a $2.7 billion deal.

The news comes during a period of internal change at the social media platform; Pinterest’s co-founder Evan Sharp resigned last week.

The lines between e-commerce and social media are also becoming increasingly blurred; Twitter last week introduced new online shopping-focused features.

Over $17.7 billion will be spent annually on social apps by 2025 according to a new report by mobile data and analytics firm App Annie.

The firm predicts annual spending in the market to grow by roughly 30 per cent every year, up from $1.2 billion in 2020.

Retail Systems have contacted both firms for comment on the reports.

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