PayPal shares soar 17% after Stripe, private-equity firm make blockbuster $53B offer

Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have made a joint offer to acquire PayPal Holdings for $60.50 per share, in a deal that would value the payments company at more than $53 billion, two people familiar with the matter said.The offer, submitted earlier this month, is backed by about $50 billion in committed financing from banks, said one of them.The offer represents around a 28% premium to PayPal’s closing share price on Tuesday.The sources declined to be named as the deal discussions are confidential. PayPal, Stripe and Advent declined to comment. Reuters first reported the news late on Tuesday.Combining Stripe and PayPal, the most widely used payment platforms for internet merchants, would create one of the world’s largest global online payments company, processing some $3.7 trillion of annual payment volume.The proposal follows an initial approach made in early April, the sources said.

Stripe and Advent have not received a response from PayPal and are seeking to advance discussions in the coming weeks, the sources said.Under the proposal, Stripe and Advent would jointly own PayPal, with each holding an equal stake, rather than breaking up the company, the people said, adding that there is no certainty the approach will result in a transaction.PayPal shares were last up nearly 17%.Founded in the late 1990s, PayPal was an early player in digital payments, but has faced competition as consumers have embraced alternative payment methods and rivals such as Apple Pay and Google Pay have gained market share.It has spent the past several years grappling with slowing growth and intensifying competition in digital payments, wiping out much of the value it gained during the pandemic.The company’s market capitalization peaked at about $360 billion in 2021 and fell 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 in March, PayPal CEO Enrique Lores started ...