Stripe and Advent make reported $53B joint bid for PayPal

What's the deal? Stripe and private equity firm Advent InternationalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → have made a joint offer to acquire PayPal Holdings for $60.50 per share, valuing the payments company at more than $53 billion, according to Reuters citing sources. The bid is reportedly backed by around $50 billion in bank financing. No party has confirmed the offer, which remains a reported bid rather than an agreed transaction.

Who's who? Stripe is a privately held payments processor that serves businesses online. PayPal is one of the oldest consumer and merchant payments brands, publicly traded and widely used for e-commerce checkout. Advent would bring the capital for a deal of this scale.

Why now? Earlier in 2026, Bloomberg reported Stripe had expressed interest in acquiring all or parts of PayPal after a prolonged slump in PayPal's stock and slowing payment growth. PayPal shares jumped on the latest report.

What's the endgame? The move comes as Stripe pushes into stablecoins and the wider payments sector consolidates. Buying PayPal would hand Stripe a large consumer wallet and merchant network to pair with its processing infrastructure.

What could go wrong? The offer is unconfirmed, and a $53 billion acquisition would face intense regulatory scrutiny and demand roughly $50 billion in debt. There is no sign yet that PayPal's board is open to a sale.

The signal: A combination of two of the largest names in payments would reshape the industry, signalling that consolidation — and the race to control both consumer wallets and merchant rails — is accelerating.

Read more: Reuters · Seeking Alpha