In July 2025, Stripe and private investment company Advent International submitted a joint proposal to acquire PayPal Holdings for $60.50 per share — valuing the company at more than $53 billion. According to Reuters, the deal is backed by approximately $50 billion in confirmed bank financing.
What is being offered and what is still missing
Under the plan, Stripe and Advent would receive equal stakes in PayPal — without splitting the business into parts. The proposal was submitted earlier in July, but was preceded by initial contacts in April 2025. According to Reuters, citing two informed sources, PayPal has not yet responded to the proposal, and the buyers expect to advance negotiations over the coming weeks. PayPal, Stripe, and Advent have not provided official comments.
The premium to the stock price at the time of the proposal is approximately 28% — substantial, but in the context of PayPal's decline, it looks different: in 2021, the company was worth $300 billion, now — approximately $44 billion, meaning shares have lost more than 80% from their peak.
Who is buying whom — and why
The paradox of the deal lies in the relative positions of the parties. Stripe, which remains a private company, in 2025 for the first time surpassed PayPal in total payment volume: $1.9 trillion versus $1.79 trillion. At the same time, Stripe's new valuation following the tender offer of employee shares reached $159 billion — nearly four times higher than PayPal's current market capitalization.
"A company that most consumers have never heard of now processes more money than the world's most famous digital payments brand"
— bobsguide analysts on the new reality of the fintech market
For Stripe, the purchase is not a rescue operation, but a strategic leap: 400+ million PayPal accounts, presence in the consumer segment where Stripe is virtually absent, and its own PYUSD stablecoin. Stripe is already building crypto infrastructure — in 2025 it acquired stablecoin company Bridge for $1.1 billion.
Where the deal could stall
- Antitrust risk. The merger of two of the largest independent processing platforms would inevitably attract the attention of regulators — both in the United States and the EU. Precedents of major fintech mergers facing antitrust pressure in 2024–2025 do not inspire optimism: even the Global Payments — Worldpay deal worth $24.25 billion underwent complex three-way restructuring.
- Technological incompatibility. PayPal built its infrastructure over 25+ years on one stack, Stripe — on a fundamentally different one. Integration on this scale has no obvious precedent in fintech.
- PayPal's silence. The lack of response could mean either a negotiating position or a refusal to engage in dialogue — publicly these options are currently indistinguishable.
If PayPal agrees to negotiate — the next critical moment will be the position of antitrust authorities: it will determine whether the largest potential fintech deal transforms into real market consolidation, or remains a signal that the era of PayPal as an independent player is coming to an end.
