Stripe and US private equity group Advent International have reportedly made a joint $53 billion offer to acquire PayPal.
According to Reuters, the consortium has offered $60.50 per share, with around $50 billion of committed bank financing supporting the proposal.
The latest bid reportedly follows an initial approach made in April. Stripe and Advent have yet to receive a response from PayPal and are said to be seeking further discussions in the coming weeks.
Under the proposal, Stripe and Advent would jointly own PayPal on an equal basis rather than breaking up the company.
PayPal shares rose around 15% in pre-market trading following the report.
The payments group has faced growing competitive pressure from rivals including Apple Pay, Google Pay, Stripe, Block and Adyen, while slowing growth has seen its valuation fall sharply from pandemic-era highs.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said PayPal remains a well-known and profitable business with exposure to mobile payments, digital wallets and buy now, pay later.
He also highlighted PayPal’s relatively low valuation, with the shares trading at less than nine times earnings compared with more than 60 times earnings at their peak.
For Stripe, acquiring PayPal would provide a major consumer-facing brand and significantly expand its position across global digital payments.
However, there is no certainty that the reported approach will result in a formal offer or completed transaction.
