PayPal board questions value of Stripe and Advent bid

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PayPal questions value bid

Highlights

PayPal’s board sees the $53 billion bid as too low.
Stripe and Advent offered $60.50 per share.
Financing totals about $50 billion.
Regulatory risk remains a major hurdle.

The board has not formally responded to the proposal but sees the $60.50-per-share bid as undervaluing PayPal and carrying financing and regulatory risks, Reuters reported. PayPal shares rose 2% on Thursday to $56.73, still below the offer price.

Board weighs price against turnaround plan

PayPal’s board is evaluating the offer against management’s current turnaround strategy. Its early view is that the bid includes a premium to the recent share price but does not fully reflect the company’s potential value if its core business stabilizes over the next several years.

The review comes after a difficult period for PayPal. The company, founded in the late 1990s, has struggled with slowing growth and competition from Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other digital payment options. Earlier this year, PayPal issued a weaker-than-expected outlook and warned of slower momentum in its core checkout business.

Investors are now looking to PayPal’s July 28 earnings report for signs that the turnaround is gaining traction.

Stripe and Advent seek a payments giant

A combination of Stripe and PayPal would create one of the world’s largest online payments companies, with about $3.7 trillion in annual payment volume. Under the proposal submitted earlier this month, Stripe and Advent would jointly own PayPal with equal stakes, rather than breaking up the company.

The consortium has arranged a financing package of roughly $50 billion from JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, which are also advising the bidders. Stripe and Advent would contribute $17 billion in equity.

Regulatory risk remains one of the biggest obstacles. Stripe and PayPal are two of the most widely used platforms for internet merchants, which could draw close antitrust scrutiny. The bidders have considered possible remedies, including separating PayPal’s Braintree unit or other assets and transferring them to Advent, which could combine them with payments investments such as Nuvei.

A test for PayPal’s value

The bid puts pressure on PayPal to prove that its independent strategy can deliver more value than a sale. The company still owns major assets, including PayPal checkout, Braintree, and Venmo, but its market standing has weakened as digital payments have become more crowded.

The size of the transaction also limits the field of potential buyers. Financial sponsors may struggle with the scale, while strategic buyers could face antitrust issues. For now, Stripe and Advent appear to be the most serious bidders, but any deal will likely depend on whether they can raise the price and reduce doubts over financing, timing, and regulatory approval.

We have previously highlighted that Stripe launches a crypto payment system for AI agents on Base.

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