PayPal shares jumped after CNBC reported that the company is in active talks to sell itself to a consortium led by Stripe and private equity firm Advent International. The approach follows PayPal's rejection of Stripe's $60.50-per-share bid in July, and prediction markets now put the odds of a 2026 deal above one in three.
Stripe and Advent Return After a Rejected Bid
CNBC's MacKenzie Sigalos reported on-air that a Wall Street Journal story detailed active sale discussions between PayPal and a group including Stripe and private equity firm Advent International. She said the board weighed a $60.50-per-share bid from Stripe and Advent just weeks earlier, a price sources told the Journal the board viewed as insufficient at the time.
PayPal closed Friday's session at $61.66, up 1.77% on the day, 4.38% on the week, and 11.06% over the past month. The stock still sits below its 52-week high of $78.53 and remains down 77.38% over five years, giving PayPal a market cap of $52.7 billion. Analysts' average price target of $58.83 sits below the current share price.
Prediction markets moved with the report. Polymarket's contract on a Stripe acquisition of PayPal in 2026 jumped from an 18.3% implied probability on August 14 to 38.1% on August 15, while a parallel market on Stripe acquiring any part of PayPal sits at 66.5%.
Lores Says the Board Will Weigh Every Option
On PayPal's Q2 earnings call, CEO Enrique Lores addressed the speculation directly. According to 24/7 Wall St.: "As a matter of policy, we don't comment on market speculation or potential M&A discussion." He added that the board has a responsibility to evaluate every opportunity presented to it and choose the option that creates the most value.
That earnings call also showed Q2 revenue at $8.68 billion, up 4.8% year over year, with non-GAAP EPS of $1.38 beating the $1.28 consensus. Total payment volume rose 10% to $486.45 billion, with Venmo volume up 14% and Braintree accelerating to 13% growth.
Why Stripe Wants PayPal's Network
A deal would give Stripe, currently valued at about $159 billion, PayPal's 439 million active accounts and Braintree's merchant footprint. The combined platform would process about $3.7 trillion in payment volume, a scale that would likely draw regulatory scrutiny.
Advent International is expected to bring financing for the deal, along with an operational playbook, as PayPal has cycled through three CEOs in under a year. Nothing is signed yet, but the rejected $60.50 bid suggests Stripe and Advent may need to return with a richer offer.
Source: 24/7 Wall St.
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
