💳 Stripe and Advent offered 53 billion for PayPal

Payment company Stripe has teamed up with investment group Advent International and submitted a bid to acquire PayPal $PYPL. The consortium is offering $60.50 per share, representing approximately a 28% premium over Tuesday's closing price of $47. The total value of the offer is around $53 billion. PayPal has not yet publicly commented on the proposal.

Under the proposed structure, Stripe and Advent would acquire equal stakes in PayPal. The company would remain intact, rather than being split up and subsequently sold off in pieces. The offer is reportedly supported by about $50 billion in committed bank financing. The first contact between the parties is said to have taken place back in April, with the current offer being submitted in early July.

The interest comes after a significant decline in PayPal's value. The company's market capitalization neared $360 billion in 2021, but now stands at approximately $42 billion, according to available data. The shares have lost around 40% over the past twelve months, and the company has written off more than 84% from its peak! The firm faces growing competition from Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other payment platforms.

The strategic significance of the transaction could also lie in the area of digital currencies. Stripe owns the Bridge platform, which it bought in 2025 for $1.1 billion and which allows companies to issue their own stablecoins. PayPal, meanwhile, operates the consumer stablecoin PYUSD with a market capitalization of nearly $2.9 billion. A combination of the two companies would thus link the token-issuing infrastructure with PayPal's existing user and distribution network.

A potential deal is not yet certain. Stripe and Advent, according to sources, hope to advance the negotiations in the coming weeks, but the stance of PayPal's board and a potential regulatory review of the combination of two major players in digital payments will be decisive.

How do you view the current situation around PayPal?