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Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have lobbed an unsolicited $53 billion bid at PayPal, offering $60.50 per share to take the fintech giant private. The offer represents a 28% premium over PayPal’s closing price on July 14, 2026, and it sent PYPL shares surging nearly 17% the following day, with intraday gains touching 20%.
For context on just how far PayPal has fallen before this lifeline appeared: the company’s market capitalization peaked around $360 billion in 2021. By early 2026, it had cratered to roughly $36 billion.
Inside the deal structure
The proposed acquisition is backed by approximately $50 billion in committed bank financing, making it one of the largest leveraged buyout attempts in fintech history. If accepted, Stripe and Advent would each hold equal stakes in a newly private PayPal.
This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment move. Stripe and Advent reportedly began analyzing the acquisition as early as February 2026, with more formal discussions kicking off around April.
The timing is notable. Enrique Lores stepped into the PayPal CEO role in March 2026, tasked with executing a turnaround strategy for a company that had been bleeding competitive ground to Apple Pay, Google Pay, and a growing roster of embedded finance solutions.
The stablecoin angle
Stripe has been increasingly vocal about its ambitions in the stablecoin market. PayPal, meanwhile, already operates PYUSD, its own dollar-pegged stablecoin, and sits on top of a user base numbering in the hundreds of millions globally. Stripe has already been integrating stablecoin payment options for its merchants, and PayPal has been building out PYUSD utility across its platform.
What this means for investors
Analysts have already flagged concerns that $60.50 per share might be too low. While a 28% premium sounds generous on paper, it looks considerably less impressive when you remember that PayPal was trading above $300 per share just five years ago.
One trader apparently already capitalized on this, reportedly netting $1.8 million by betting on PayPal’s stock rise before the offer became public.
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