PayPal shares plunge 14.6% pre-market after Advent-Stripe consortium abandons acquisition plan

Published Aug 29, 11:45 AM UTC

PayPal shares fell 14.6% in pre-market trading to $52.49 after Bloomberg reported that a consortium comprising Advent International and Stripe abandoned plans to acquire the digital payments company. The consortium had offered $60.50 per share, valuing PayPal at over $53 billion, but PayPal's board deemed the price inadequate and raised concerns about regulatory and financing hurdles. Negotiations stalled, leading to the withdrawal. The takeover speculation had previously supported investor interest amid PayPal's decline from a pandemic-era peak of $360 billion market cap. Separately, PayPal is undergoing restructuring under CEO Enrique Lores, who took over in March 2026, reorganizing into three business units focused on checkout, Venmo, and payments/cryptocurrencies. The broader U.S. equity market showed mixed signals, with Nasdaq futures under modest pressure and S&P 500 futures unchanged.