Stripe, Advent offer $53bn for PayPal, Reuters says

Payment processing firm Stripe and private equity firm Advent International offered to buy fintech pioneer PayPal Holdings at a valuation topping $53 billion, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Stripe and Advent are offering $60.50 a share, or about 28% more than PayPal’s closing price Tuesday, Reuters said. The offer is backed by about $50 billion in committed financing from banks, according to the report.

The two suitors would jointly own PayPal and wouldn’t break it up, with each having an equal stake, Reuters said. Bloomberg reported in February that Stripe was considering an offer for all or parts of PayPal.

A Stripe spokesperson declined to comment. Representatives for Advent and PayPal didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Founded in the late 1990s, PayPal was an early mover in digital payments. It has since struggled with modernising its payment technologies as rivals such as Apple and Alphabet have seized market share.

PayPal was planning to cut about 20% of its workforce in the next two to three years, people familiar with the matter said in May. The planned reductions represent a part of new Chief Executive Officer Enrique Lores’ effort to reduce costs and turn around the payments company, whose shares have declined more than 40% since the start of last year.

Closely held Stripe, founded by brothers Patrick and John Collison, has become one of the industry’s most coveted players. The company reached $159 billion valuation in an employee tender offer in February, up from $106.7 billion the previous year.

Stripe has said it remained profitable last year while continuing to invest heavily in product development and acquisitions. The company recently bought stablecoin orchestration platform Bridge and crypto wallet provider Privy as it expands deeper into crypto-related payments.

© 2026 Bloomberg