As early as February this year, Ehandel.se reported that Stripe held early discussions regarding an acquisition of all or parts of PayPal. Sources close to the matter now state that a first formal approach was made in early April. Stripe and Advent have not yet received a response from PayPal, but the parties intend to continue discussions in the coming weeks. The proposed offer would see Stripe and Advent each owning half of PayPal, with no plans to break up the business.
PayPal was an early mover in digital payments but has faced increased competition in recent years from players such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. The company's market value was around $360 billion in 2021, but has been down to around $36 billion this year. Over the past twelve months, the company has lost more than 40 percent of its market value.
New CEO to Turn the Tide
In early March, Enrique Lores took office as the new CEO of PayPal with the mandate to simplify operations and increase growth. As part of this, the company's operations were divided in April into three units: checkout, the consumer service Venmo, and payments and crypto. Stripe is in a different financial position and announced a valuation of $159 billion in February this year.
The potential acquisition of PayPal is taking place during a period of consolidation in the payments sector. In 2025, Global Payments acquired competitor Worldpay in a deal worth $24.25 billion. The sector also saw the Canadian Nuvei’s acquisition of Payoneer Global for $2.75 billion, a company partially backed by Advent International.
Neither PayPal, Stripe nor Advent have commented on the information.