A giant deal on the way? Stripe in talks to acquire PayPal
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Stripe and the investment fund Advent offered $60.50 per share for PayPal in July, based on a valuation of $53 billion, but were rejected. The parties are now discussing a higher price, and a deal could turn Stripe into one of the world's largest payment giants.
One of the most significant deals in the digital payments world may be underway: Stripe and the private equity fund Advent International are in talks to acquire PayPal, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. The report states that both companies submitted an offer in July of $60.50 per share, reflecting a valuation for PayPal of about $53 billion, but the amount was insufficient to secure a deal.
The offer came at a particularly sensitive time for PayPal. According to the Journal, the company's stock was trading near an all-time low at the time, with a market value of only about $40 billion. For comparison, at the peak of the pandemic, the company's value climbed to approximately $320 billion—a gap that illustrates how much the status of a company once considered a primary beneficiary of the shift to online commerce has changed.
While the talks could still fall through, the parties are reportedly discussing a higher price per share. If negotiations progress as planned, an announcement could be made in the coming weeks.
In an earlier report, Reuters noted that Stripe and Advent plan to hold equal stakes in PayPal and become joint owners. The companies reportedly do not plan to break up PayPal post-acquisition. This would position Stripe as one of the largest online payment companies globally, with a total volume of approximately $3.7 trillion in payments passing through its systems annually.
The move comes as PayPal is in the midst of a strategic pivot. Since his appointment as CEO in March, Enrique Lores has been working to reorganize operations. Lores has divided PayPal into three central units: checkout payment systems, Venmo, and a division dedicated to payments and crypto.
At this stage, it remains unclear how the new structure would be managed in the event of an acquisition. However, according to Reuters, a combination of Stripe and PayPal could reduce Stripe's dependence on Visa and Mastercard while bringing key PayPal assets—including Venmo and its crypto operations—under one roof.
If completed, this would be more than just the acquisition of a veteran competitor at a price significantly below its peak value. It could fundamentally shift the balance of power in the online payments market, transforming Stripe from a key industry player into a giant that controls a much larger share of how money moves across the internet.
