Stripe and Advent launch $53 billion bid for PayPal

Stripe and private‑equity firm Advent International have submitted a joint offer to acquire PayPal Holdings for $60.50 per share, valuing the payments company at more than $53 billion. The proposal represents a roughly 28 % premium to PayPal’s closing price on the Tuesday before the offer and is backed by about $50 billion of committed bank financing. Under the terms, Stripe and Advent would each hold an equal 50 % stake in PayPal and would not split the business.

PayPal has not responded publicly and the board has yet to decide. The news sent PayPal shares soaring – pre‑market gains of 15 % to 19 % were reported, with the stock up nearly 15 % in overnight trading. The bid comes as PayPal’s market capitalisation has fallen from about $360 billion at its 2021 pandemic peak to roughly $36 billion in 2026, after a 40 % share‑price decline over the past year. The company is in the midst of a turnaround led by CEO Enrique Lores, who reorganised the firm in April into three units (checkout, Venmo/consumer financial services, and payments & crypto) and reported first‑quarter revenue of $8.35 billion, an 7 % year‑over‑year increase, with total payment volume of $464 billion.

Analysts note that a successful merger would create one of the largest fintech consolidations, combining Stripe’s merchant‑payment infrastructure with PayPal’s consumer‑facing network and stable‑coin capabilities. The transaction would likely draw antitrust scrutiny in the United States and Europe and could reshape the global digital‑payments landscape.