Stripe targets PayPal with Advent in $53B-plus buyout offer

A PayPal offer from Stripe and Advent would value the payments company at more than $53 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The proposal would pay $60.50 a share for PayPal Holdings Inc (PYPL.O), the people said. One said the bid was submitted earlier this month and carries about $50 billion of committed bank financing.

The approach remains preliminary because PayPal has not responded to Stripe and Advent, the people said. PayPal, Stripe and Advent declined to comment on the matter.

Stripe-Advent bid tests PayPal

The bid would place a premium of around 28% to PayPal's closing price on Tuesday, one of the people said. That spread is the clearest measure in the account of how much Stripe and Advent are willing to pay to draw PayPal into talks.

The financing package is a core part of the proposal. At roughly $50 billion, the committed bank backing described by one person would cover most of the stated transaction value and signals that the bidders have tried to remove an early obstacle.

For PayPal investors, the $60.50 price would be the immediate reference point. If PayPal's board engages, shareholders would weigh the offered premium against the company's standalone prospects and any view that a higher price could be negotiated.

For Stripe, the proposal would mark a major expansion from payments technology into joint ownership of a large listed payments company, if it advances. For Advent, the structure would put a financial sponsor beside an operating company rather than in a conventional solo buyout.

Equal ownership shapes proposal

The people said Stripe and Advent would split ownership equally and do not plan to break up PayPal. That detail matters because deal risk often rises when a buyer needs asset sales or carve-outs to fund or justify the purchase.

Keeping PayPal intact would also make the industrial logic easier to state: the bidders would be seeking control of the whole payments platform, not selected assets. The unanswered question is whether PayPal sees that as a credible path or an opportunistic approach during a period of share-price weakness.

The talks also test whether banks are prepared to support very large acquisition financing in payments. A committed package does not guarantee completion, but it can shape negotiations by showing that the bidders have lined up lenders before pressing for engagement.

PayPal response sets next stage

Several paths now depend on PayPal's response. If the company opens discussions, the next stage would likely turn on diligence, financing terms, governance and price, with shareholders judging whether the $60.50 offer compensates them for giving up public ownership.

If PayPal rejects the approach or continues not to respond, Stripe and Advent would need to decide whether to revise terms, make a more public push, or walk away. In that case, the effect on PayPal would be less about immediate control and more about the market's reassessment of its sale value.

If talks progress, the sector signal would be that large payments assets remain attractive to strategic buyers and financial sponsors when financing is available. If talks stall, the lesson would be narrower: even a premium and bank backing may not be enough to unlock a company that prefers to stay independent.

The global angle is the cost and availability of credit for transactions of this size. A deal above $53 billion would require lenders to keep supporting acquisition risk; a failed process would show that financing alone cannot overcome board resistance, valuation gaps or uncertainty over integration.