NEW YORK: Payments company Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have submitted a joint bid to acquire PayPal Holdings Inc. for $60.50 per share, a deal that would value the digital payments pioneer at more than $53 billion, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The offer, made earlier this month, is backed by approximately $50 billion in committed financing from banks and represents a roughly 28% premium over PayPal’s closing stock price Tuesday, according to reports. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions remain confidential.
Advent declined to comment. PayPal and Stripe did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The proposal follows an initial approach in early April, according to the sources. Stripe and Advent have not yet received a response from PayPal and are seeking to advance discussions in the coming weeks.
Under the terms of the proposal, Stripe and Advent would each hold an equal ownership stake in PayPal, rather than breaking up the company, the people said. They cautioned there is no certainty the approach will result in a transaction.
PayPal, founded in the late 1990s, was an early leader in digital payments but has faced mounting competition from rivals including Apple Pay and Google Pay. The company’s market capitalization peaked at approximately $360 billion in 2021 before falling to as low as roughly $36 billion this year. It has lost more than 40% of its market value over the past 12 months.
After taking over as CEO in March, Enrique Lores initiated a sweeping turnaround effort to simplify the company and sharpen its focus on growth. In April, PayPal split its operations into three units covering checkout, consumer financial services through Venmo, and payments and crypto, while implementing a series of management changes.
