Stripe and Advent International have made a joint approach to acquire PayPal Holdings for $60.50 per share, a proposal that would value the U.S. payments company at more than $53 billion and rank among the most significant fintech takeover attempts in recent years.
The offer was submitted earlier this month and is backed by about $50 billion in committed bank financing. The proposed price represents roughly a 28% premium to PayPal's closing share price on the Tuesday before the approach became public, underscoring both the scale of the bid and the pressure on PayPal's market valuation.
Under the proposal, Stripe and Advent would jointly own PayPal with equal stakes rather than breaking the company apart. The structure would pair Stripe's merchant-focused payments infrastructure with PayPal's consumer network, including its digital wallet franchise and Venmo.
PayPal has not formally responded to the proposal, and there is no certainty that the approach will lead to a transaction. The bid follows an initial approach made in April, with Stripe and Advent seeking to advance discussions in the coming weeks.
The approach comes after several difficult years for PayPal. The company, once one of the dominant names in digital payments, has faced slower growth, sharper competition from Apple Pay, Google Pay and other payment alternatives, and a steep decline from its pandemic-era market value.
For Stripe, a privately held payments company valued at $159 billion in a February tender offer, a PayPal acquisition would represent a major move into consumer payments. For Advent, the proposal would extend a long track record in payments and financial technology investments.
The main questions now are price, financing certainty, regulatory review and PayPal's own view of its turnaround prospects. Until PayPal's board responds, the proposal remains an ambitious approach rather than a signed transaction.
