Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have submitted a joint offer to acquire PayPal for more than $53 billion, or $60.50 per share, representing a roughly 28% premium to PayPal's Tuesday closing price. The proposal includes about $50 billion in committed bank financing, though PayPal has not publicly responded to the offer, according to Reuters.
Deal structure and background
Under the proposal, Stripe and Advent would each hold an equal stake in PayPal rather than splitting the company. The offer was reportedly submitted earlier in July after an initial approach in April. PayPal, Stripe and Advent declined to comment, and sources cautioned that there is no certainty the talks will lead to a completed transaction. The $53 billion valuation comes after a sharp decline in PayPal's market value from its 2021 peak, as the company faces increased competition from checkout, digital wallet and alternative payment providers. New CEO Enrique Lores, who took over in March, has begun restructuring the business.
Crypto and stablecoin integration
A deal would combine PayPal's PYUSD stablecoin ecosystem with Stripe's expanding global stablecoin payment infrastructure. PayPal reorganized in April into three units covering checkout, Venmo consumer services, and payments and crypto. Its crypto business includes PYUSD, a dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Paxos, which recently expanded to Polygon. Stripe has invested heavily in stablecoin infrastructure, including its $1.1 billion acquisition of Bridge, a stablecoin platform. Stripe was valued at $159 billion in a February tender offer, giving it a larger reported market value than PayPal under the current proposal.
Industry consolidation pressures
The reported bid comes amid wider consolidation in global payments as companies seek scale in cross-border transfers, business payments, AI and blockchain settlement. Stripe, PayPal, Visa, Mastercard and others have expanded use of blockchain-based dollars for settlement. A completed takeover would place PayPal's consumer network, Venmo and PYUSD alongside Stripe's merchant infrastructure and stablecoin technology. However, the proposal remains preliminary, and any agreement would face detailed negotiations and likely regulatory review. The bidders are seeking to move discussions forward before the end of July.