Stripe and Advent Eye $53 Billion Bid for Struggling PayPal

A reported joint takeover approach from rival Stripe and private-equity firm Advent International sent PayPal shares to their single best day on record Wednesday.

PayPal shares surged to a record single-session gain on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, following buyout reports.
Stripe and Advent International are said to be jointly pursuing a bid valuing PayPal at roughly $53 billion.
PayPal has been under sustained pressure from competition and slowing growth heading into the reported approach.
Advent International is a Boston-based private-equity firm managing approximately $90 billion in assets.
No formal offer has been confirmed; PayPal and Stripe have not issued public statements on the report.

PayPal shares logged their best single-session performance in the company’s history on Wednesday after MarketWatch reported that Stripe, its direct competitor in digital payments, is partnering with private-equity firm Advent International on a takeover bid valuing the target at approximately $53 billion.

The report sent PYPL up sharply in intraday trading, a reversal for a stock that had spent the better part of two years being described, including in the sourcing for the bid story itself, as “battered.”

Advent International, headquartered in Boston, manages roughly $90 billion in assets across global markets. Stripe, the San Francisco-based payments processor, is privately held and was last valued at $65 billion in a 2023 tender offer — meaning it would be acquiring a publicly traded rival currently priced below its own private-market valuation.

PayPal has not confirmed the report. Stripe has not confirmed the report. Advent International has not confirmed the report.

The company whose stock just had its best day ever has yet to say a word about it.