Stripe has teamed up with private equity firm Advent International to make a play for one of its oldest rivals, PayPal.

The two submitted a joint bid of $60.50 per share, a 28% premium to PayPal’s closing share price of $47.37 on Tuesday, which the company has so far left unanswered.

Why PayPal Became a Target

PayPal once led digital payments, but growth has slowed against rivals such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. Its market value peaked near $360 billion in 2021. That figure sank to about $36 billion this year, a 40% drop over 12 months.

Stripe and Advent submitted the offer earlier this month, following an initial approach in April, Reuters reported. The bid is backed by about $50 billion in committed bank financing. Under the proposal, the two buyers would hold equal stakes and keep PayPal intact rather than break it up.

The bid lands during a busy stretch for financial dealmaking. Global merger activity hit a record $2.8 trillion in the first half of 2026 and is projected to grow to $4 trillion this year. 

What a Combined Company Could Hold

PayPal has not responded yet. Stripe and Advent still hope to move talks forward within weeks, sources told Reuters.

A deal would bring together two large payment networks under a single owner. Stripe owns Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure platform it bought for $1.1 billion in 2025. Bridge lets businesses issue their own dollar-backed tokens rather than running a consumer coin of its own.

PayPal brings the other half. Its PYUSD stablecoin already reaches everyday users, with a market cap of nearly $2.9 billion. Pairing Bridge’s issuance tools with PYUSD’s consumer base would give the combined firm both ends of the stablecoin stack.

There is no certainty that the approach leads to a deal. The coming weeks may show whether PayPal’s board engages.

Source: BeInCrypto