Stripe, Advent Submit Unsolicited $53B Bid to Take PayPal Private

Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have made an unsolicited offer to acquire PayPal for $53 billion, proposing $60.50 per share to take the payments company private. The bid implies a 28% premium to PayPal's July 14, 2026 close, and pushed PYPL shares up nearly 17% the next day, with intraday gains reaching 20%. The approach comes after a steep multiyear slide in PayPal's valuation. The company's market cap peaked at about $360 billion in 2021, then sank to roughly $36 billion by early 2026. Deal financing and structure The proposed transaction is supported by around $50 billion of committed bank financing, positioning it among the largest leveraged buyout attempts in fintech to date. Under the outlined structure, Stripe and Advent would each own equal stakes in a newly private PayPal. Stripe and Advent are said to have begun evaluating a deal as early as February 2026, with more formal talks starting around April. The bid also lands shortly after Enrique Lores became PayPal CEO in March 2026, taking on a turnaround as competition intensified from Apple Pay, Google Pay and a broader wave of embedded finance providers. Stablecoins in focus Stripe has been increasingly explicit about its stablecoin ambitions. PayPal already issues PYUSD, its dollarp'egged stablecoin, and has a global user base in the hundreds of millions. Stripe has been adding stablecoin payment options for merchants, while PayPal has been expanding PYUSD use cases across its platform. Investor implications Some analysts argue $60.50 per share may undervalue the company. Even with a 28% premium to the prior close, the offer looks modest against PayPal's share price above $300 about five years ago. One trader reportedly profited from the move, netting about $1.8 million after positioning for a rise in PayPal shares before the offer became public.