Stripe and Advent's $53 Billion Bid to Take PayPal Private Sparks Antitrust Questions
Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have made an unsolicited $53 billion offer to buy PayPal Holdings and take it private. The bid values PayPal at $60.50 a share, a 28 percent premium over its closing price the day before, and comes backed by roughly $50 billion in committed bank financing. Stripe and Advent would each hold an equal stake and plan to keep PayPal running as one business rather than break it apart. PayPal's board is expected to discuss the offer as soon as July 20.
The bid lands at a rough moment for PayPal, whose market value has fallen from around $360 billion in 2021 to roughly $42 billion before the offer. The company is also cutting about 20 percent of its workforce as part of a restructuring under new CEO Enrique Lores. Stripe, valued near $159 billion in a private tender offer earlier this year, would gain PayPal's more than 400 million user accounts and its PYUSD stablecoin.
The deal is nonbinding and PayPal has not responded publicly, but the overlap between the two companies, especially at checkout and in payment gateway services, is expected to draw regulatory scrutiny.
What supporters say:
Backers argue the buyout premium and fresh capital give a struggling PayPal room to restructure away from the pressure of quarterly public markets.
Combining PayPal's massive user base with Stripe's infrastructure could accelerate U.S. stablecoin adoption and give the pair more leverage against Apple Pay and other rivals.
With about $50 billion in bank financing already lined up, analysts see less risk of the deal collapsing over funding.
What critics say:
Stripe and PayPal compete directly at checkout and in payment gateways through Stripe's Link and PayPal's Braintree unit, raising real antitrust concerns.
The roughly $50 billion in acquisition debt would burden a combined company that already competes on thin margins against Block, Apple Pay and buy-now-pay-later apps.
Some analysts have already said the $60.50 per share offer may undervalue PayPal's brand and user base, inviting shareholder pushback or a bidding war.
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