Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have offered to buy PayPal Holdings (PYPL) for $60.50 per share, valuing the payments company at more than $53 billion, Reuters reported on Wednesday, July 15, citing sources familiar with the matter. The bid represents a 28% premium over PayPal’s Tuesday closing price of $47.37 and comes with roughly $50 billion in committed financing from banks. PayPal shares surged as much as 18% in premarket trading on the news. If completed, the deal would be the largest fintech acquisition in history, and it would put two of the most important companies in stablecoin payments under one roof. PayPal has not accepted the offer and has so far been reluctant to engage, according to the Financial Times.
Key takeaways
- Stripe and Advent International offered $60.50 per share for PayPal, valuing the company at more than $53 billion with about $50 billion in committed bank financing.
- The offer is a 28% premium over PayPal’s July 14 close of $47.37. Shares jumped as much as 18% in premarket trading on July 15.
- This is Stripe’s second approach. Bloomberg reported early acquisition talks in February 2026, and PayPal has so far declined to engage.
- A deal would combine PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin with Stripe’s Bridge infrastructure and its stake in the Open USD stablecoin venture.
Published: July 16, 2026, 10:30 UTC
Why Stripe is chasing PayPal
The offer follows months of pursuit. Bloomberg reported in February 2026 that Stripe had held early talks with PayPal, which has been losing ground to smartphone-based payment services such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. That approach went nowhere, and Wednesday’s formal bid, reported first by Reuters and the Financial Times, escalates the effort with a concrete price and financing.
PayPal is a target because its stock has struggled. Even after a 14% gain over the past month, the shares were down about 35% over the past year before the bid landed, according to Yahoo Finance data cited by Cointelegraph. The company has also struggled to turn Venmo’s popularity into profit, as Axios noted.
For Stripe, the logic is reach. Stripe processes payments for online businesses, and PayPal’s Braintree unit competes with it directly. Venmo is the new piece: a consumer wallet with a large US user base that Stripe has never had. Axios called the bid a rare case of a venture-backed private company attempting to buy an S&P 500 member.
What happens next
PayPal’s board now has to respond to a public number. PayPal, Stripe and Advent all declined to comment on the reports. The FT reported that PayPal has been reluctant to engage with Stripe’s interest, which sets up a potential pressure campaign through shareholders if the board rejects the offer outright.
The market reaction shows investors take the bid seriously. The stock closed up 17% on Wednesday, still below the $60.50 offer price, a gap that reflects doubt about whether a deal gets done. A takeover of this size would also face antitrust review, since Stripe and PayPal’s Braintree compete head-to-head in merchant payment processing.
The stablecoin consolidation angle
A stablecoin is a digital token designed to hold a fixed value, usually one US dollar, by keeping cash or equivalent assets in reserve. Both companies have placed large bets on them, which makes this deal a Web3 story as much as a payments story.
PayPal launched its PYUSD stablecoin in 2023, and it ranks among the 10 largest stablecoins, according to CoinMarketCap data cited by Cointelegraph. Stripe has gone further into infrastructure. Its Bridge unit received conditional approval for a US national trust bank charter in February, Visa is expanding a stablecoin card partnership with Bridge to more than 100 countries, and Stripe joined the Open USD stablecoin venture alongside Visa, Mastercard and BlackRock in June, a move that CoinDesk reported has pressured Circle’s USDC.
A combined company would control PYUSD, Bridge’s issuance rails and a stake in Open USD at the same time traditional finance is moving onchain, from Swift’s blockchain ledger pilot with 17 global banks to the US and UK roadmap for tokenized finance. Regulators reviewing the deal would be weighing not just merchant payments but a growing share of dollar stablecoin infrastructure.
Frequently asked questions
What did Stripe and Advent offer for PayPal?
The two firms offered $60.50 per share, valuing PayPal at more than $53 billion, with about $50 billion in committed bank financing, according to Reuters. The price is a 28% premium over PayPal’s July 14 closing price of $47.37.
Has PayPal accepted the offer?
No. PayPal has been reluctant to engage with Stripe’s interest, the Financial Times reported, and the company declined to comment on the bid. Its board must now decide whether to negotiate, reject the offer outright or seek other buyers at a higher price.
Why does the deal matter for crypto?
PayPal issues the PYUSD stablecoin and Stripe owns Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure firm with a conditional US trust bank charter. A merger would concentrate significant stablecoin payment rails inside one private company just as banks and regulators move tokenized money into the mainstream.
