Stripe and Advent International Make $53.4B Joint Bid to Acquire PayPal

Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have submitted a joint offer to acquire PayPal for approximately $53.4 billion, or $60.50 per share in cash — a 28% premium to where PayPal's stock closed the day before the news broke. PayPal shares immediately surged 14% on the announcement. Block is also participating in the financing structure, with the three firms collectively contributing $17 billion in equity. The remainder of the deal — roughly $50 billion — would be covered by committed bank financing, making it one of the largest leveraged buyout-style transactions in fintech history.

PayPal's board is expected to convene as soon as July 20 to formally discuss the offer, which was first submitted earlier in July. Under the proposed structure, Stripe and Advent would jointly own PayPal and hold equal stakes in the combined entity. PayPal has not yet responded to the offer, and all three parties — Stripe, Advent, and PayPal — declined to comment publicly. The acquirers are hoping to advance discussions over the coming weeks.

The bid comes after months of speculation. Stripe, which carries a private valuation of around $159 billion, was reported to be eyeing PayPal as early as February, when early-stage discussions were first surfaced. The move would represent an enormous strategic expansion for Stripe, which has long dominated payment infrastructure for online businesses but lacks PayPal's massive consumer-facing brand and Venmo platform.

For PayPal, the offer arrives at a moment of visible vulnerability. The company issued disappointing profit guidance for 2026 at the start of the year, flagging a low-single-digit percentage decline in full-year adjusted earnings. It also ousted CEO Alex Chriss — who was himself brought in specifically to engineer a turnaround — and replaced him with HP's Enrique Lores. Analysts have noted that investor skepticism runs deep after multiple failed attempts to reverse the company's growth slowdown, even as PayPal continues to pour capital into revival efforts.