Stripe, Advent Bid $53bn to Buy PayPal

Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have made a joint offer to acquire PayPal for $60.50 per share. The bid values the payments company at more than $53 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The proposal, submitted earlier this month, includes about $50 billion in committed bank financing. It represents a 28% premium to PayPal’s closing share price on Tuesday.

PayPal, Stripe, and Advent declined to comment. Sources said PayPal has not responded to the proposal. They also cautioned that the talks may not result in a deal.

Under the proposal, Stripe and Advent would each own an equal stake in PayPal. The buyers plan to keep the company intact instead of breaking it up, the sources said.

News of the offer sent PayPal shares up about 15% in premarket trading.

The potential acquisition comes as PayPal tries to revive growth after years of rising competition in digital payments. Rivals such as Apple Pay and Google Pay have gained market share. PayPal’s market value peaked at about $360 billion in 2021 before falling sharply.

Chief Executive Enrique Lores, who took over in March, has launched a turnaround plan. The company recently reorganised its business into three divisions: checkout, consumer financial services, Venmo, and payments and crypto.

The company also plans to cut costs by about $1.5 billion over the next two to three years. It will reinvest the savings in growth initiatives. First-quarter revenue rose 7% to $8.35 billion. Payment volume increased 8% on a currency-neutral basis to about $464 billion.

A deal would combine Stripe’s merchant payments platform with PayPal’s consumer brands. Those include Venmo, Braintree, and its cryptocurrency business. Stripe also bought stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge earlier this year. PayPal operates its own dollar-backed stablecoin, PYUSD.

The proposed takeover is the latest sign of consolidation in the payments industry. Companies are using acquisitions to gain scale. They also want stronger positions in fast-growing areas such as cross-border payments and business-to-business services.

Recent deals include Global Payments’ $24.25 billion agreement to acquire Worldpay. Canadian payments company Nuvei also agreed to buy Payoneer for $2.75 billion.

Stripe remains privately held. The company was valued at $159 billion in a February tender offer for employees and shareholders. It provides payment processing, payouts, billing and financial automation tools for businesses.