Activist Elliott invests USD1b in Pinterest
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The news: Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has injected USD1 billion ($1.42 billion) into social media company Pinterest to fund the company’s share buy back efforts.
The numbers: In a statement shared Tuesday, Pinterest said the share repurchases will be undertaken as part of a USD3.5 billion strategy signed off by Pinterest’s board on Tuesday. The program will also see Pinterest repurchase up to an additional USD500 million in shares from cash on hand.
Under the terms of the investment, Elliott will buy USD1 billion in Pinterest’s convertible senior notes with an initial conversion price of USD22.72 per share, representing a 30% to the stock’s closing price on Monday 2 March.
The context: Pinterest last month posted disappointing projections for quarterly sales, prompting shares to sink by the most in three years, as it sees larger retailers pull back on advertising spending to protest their margins as tariff costs add pressure.
In January the company announced plans to cut up to 15% of its workforce, roughly 700 jobs, and reduce office space as it reallocated resources to AI-focused roles and teams.
What they said: “Elliott’s investment is a strong vote of confidence in the work we have done to build our business and the significant opportunities ahead for Pinterest,” said Bill Ready, Pinterest CEO. “Today’s repurchase announcement reflects our belief that our current share price undervalues the strength of our business and the significant long-term growth opportunity ahead.”
The sources: Pinterest statement, Bloomberg, WSJ
