Advent and Stripe abandon $53bn PayPal takeover

Advent International and payments giant Stripe have reportedly ended their pursuit of PayPal, bringing an end to a proposed take-private transaction that would have valued the fintech group at more than $53bn, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The consortium had offered $60.50 per PayPal share in July, but Bloomberg reported on Thursday that the buyers have now decided to walk away from the proposed acquisition. PayPal, Stripe and Advent declined to comment.

The decision follows opposition from PayPal’s board, which had viewed the proposal as insufficient and raised concerns around the financing and regulatory hurdles associated with the transaction.

The proposed deal would have represented a substantial discount to PayPal’s pandemic-era peak valuation. The company was valued at approximately $360bn in 2021, when the rapid growth of digital payments drove investor enthusiasm for fintech businesses.

Advent and Stripe initially approached PayPal alongside Block in April. Block subsequently withdrew from the consortium before Stripe and Advent submitted their formal proposal.

For Advent, the transaction would have represented a major private equity investment in the payments sector, while Stripe would have gained a potentially transformative opportunity to expand its position in digital payments.

The scale of the proposed transaction also highlighted the financing challenges associated with large-cap take-private deals, particularly where a buyer faces a combination of regulatory scrutiny and uncertainty over the target’s future growth.

PayPal’s board had not formally accepted the offer before the consortium’s reported decision to abandon its pursuit.