PayPal jumps on reported $53 billion Stripe bid

PayPal shares surged as much as 13% on Wall Street on Wednesday after reports that Stripe and private equity firm Advent International had made a joint bid to acquire the payments company.

According to U.S. media reports cited by AFP, the offer values PayPal at about $53 billion, or $60.50 per share. The bid was reportedly made this month and represents a premium of about 28% over Tuesday’s closing price.

Even so, the reported offer is well below where PayPal traded a year ago, after what the source described as a bruising 12 months for the stock. If completed, the transaction would still be among the largest fintech acquisitions ever, combining Stripe’s payments infrastructure, which is widely used by online businesses, with PayPal’s large consumer and merchant base.

Recommended reading

Hinge founder Justin McLeod readies Overtone AI matchmaker

×

Stripe, founded in 2010 by Irish brothers Patrick Collison and John Collison, remains one of Silicon Valley’s most valuable private companies. It was most recently valued at around $159 billion. The brothers, who serve as chief executive and president, have long resisted taking the company public.

PayPal dates back to the late 1990s. Its co-founders included billionaire investor Peter Thiel, while Elon Musk joined through a merger with his startup X.com. The company’s former executives later became known as the “PayPal mafia”, with alumni going on to found or lead companies including Tesla, SpaceX, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Palantir.

In recent years, though, PayPal has struggled to keep up with rivals such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. Its market value peaked at nearly $360 billion in 2021 before falling sharply, and the company issued disappointing profit guidance for 2026 at the start of this year.