Key facts
- Stripe and Advent International have made a joint offer to acquire PayPal.
- The offer is for $60.50 per share, valuing PayPal at over $53 billion.
- The bid includes approximately $50 billion in committed financing.
- PayPal is currently an independent, publicly traded company.
- New CEO Enrique Lores is focusing PayPal on AI-driven commerce.
Payments company Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have submitted a joint offer to acquire PayPal Holdings Inc. for $60.50 per share, valuing the company at over $53 billion. The offer, made earlier this month, is supported by approximately $50 billion in committed financing from banks, representing a premium of about 28% to PayPal's closing share price on Tuesday.
Despite these reports, as of March 12, 2026, PayPal remains an independent, publicly traded company. Rumors of Stripe's interest in acquiring PayPal or parts of it surfaced in late February 2026, causing PayPal's stock to surge. At that time, Stripe had a private valuation of $159 billion, while PayPal's market capitalization was around $43 billion, a significant drop from its pandemic-era highs.
Enrique Lores officially became President and CEO of PayPal on March 1, 2026. He is tasked with transforming the legacy payments platform into a modern infrastructure for the AI era, focusing on "AI-driven commerce." This strategic shift aims to move beyond simple checkout buttons into a more integrated transaction environment, addressing perceived threats from competitors like Apple Pay and Google Pay.