Private equity firm Advent International has teamed up with payments platform Stripe to make a joint offer to acquire PayPal in a transaction valuing the digital payments company at more than $53bn, according to a report by Reuters.
The report cites unnamed people familiar with the matter as saying that the consortium has offered $60.50 per share for PayPal, representing a premium of around 28% to the company’s recent closing share price. According to the sources, the proposal, submitted earlier this month, is supported by approximately $50bn of committed bank financing.
The approach follows an initial expression of interest made in April. While the bidders are seeking to progress discussions in the coming weeks, PayPal has yet to respond to the proposal and there is no certainty that negotiations will result in a transaction.
Under the proposed structure, Stripe and Advent would each own 50% of PayPal, with no plans to split up the business following an acquisition.
For Advent, the deal would represent one of the largest private equity-backed technology buyouts in recent years and would significantly expand its exposure to the global payments sector, where it is already an active investor.
PayPal, once a dominant force in digital payments, has struggled to maintain its growth trajectory as competition from alternative payment platforms has intensified. Rivals including Apple Pay and Google Pay have captured market share, while the company has seen much of the pandemic-era surge in its valuation unwind.
The payments group, whose market capitalisation peaked at approximately $360bn in 2021, has lost more than 40% of its value over the past year after falling to a low of roughly $36bn earlier in 2026.
New chief executive Enrique Lores, who took the helm in March, has launched a broad restructuring programme aimed at simplifying the business and accelerating growth. The company recently reorganised its operations into three divisions covering checkout services, Venmo consumer financial services, and payments and cryptocurrency, alongside a series of senior management changes.
Lores has also outlined plans to deploy artificial intelligence to improve operational efficiency and reduce organisational complexity. PayPal expects these initiatives to generate around $1.5bn in cost savings over the next two to three years, with the savings earmarked for reinvestment in future growth.
The proposed acquisition comes amid continued consolidation across the global payments industry, as strategic and financial buyers pursue greater scale and access to faster-growing areas such as cross-border and business-to-business payments.
Private equity firms have remained active in the sector. Last year, GTCR exited its investment in Worldpay as part of Global Payments’ $24.25bn acquisition of the business, while Advent-backed Nuvei agreed to acquire Payoneer Global in a $2.75bn transaction.
PayPal reported first-quarter revenue of $8.35bn, ahead of market expectations, while total payment volume increased 8% year-on-year on a constant currency basis to approximately $464bn.
Stripe, one of the world’s most valuable privately held fintech companies, was valued at $159bn in a February tender offer. The company provides payment processing, payouts and financial automation services to businesses globally.
