PayPal in sale talks with consortium including Stripe and Advent: WSJ

Published Aug 18, 08:06 PM UTC

PayPal is reportedly in discussions to sell itself to a consortium including payments rival Stripe and private equity firm Advent International, according to the Wall Street Journal. The group submitted a joint bid in July of $60.50 per share, valuing the company at about $53 billion—a steep decline from its peak valuation of nearly $360 billion in 2021. PayPal has faced increasing competition from Apple Pay and Google Pay, and earlier this year issued weaker-than-expected profit guidance for 2026. While the earlier deal did not proceed, talks have continued and a fresh agreement could emerge in the coming weeks. PayPal shares rose nearly 1.8% following the report. Stripe, founded in 2010, remains privately owned and is seen as a likely future IPO candidate. PayPal, founded in 1998, was an early leader in peer-to-peer online payments and counts billionaire Peter Thiel among its co-founders.