Advent International and Stripe abandon $50 bn PayPal acquisition attempt
A consortium comprising buyout firm Advent International and payments processor Stripe has terminated its pursuit of PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ:PYPL), Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. The group had earlier floated a proposal exceeding $50 billion to acquire the digital‑payments company, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Following the announcement, PayPal’s shares slipped 12.7% in after‑hours trading, closing at $53.66 as of 23:32 ET. The decline came after the stock had risen more than 40% during the quarter, propelled by stronger‑than‑expected second‑quarter earnings, which lifted PayPal’s market valuation to approximately $52.6 billion.
PayPal recently replaced its chief executive, appointing Enrique Lores in March to succeed Alex Chriss as the firm seeks to revive growth and modernize its business amid intensified competition from Apple and Alphabet.
Bloomberg noted that the consortium could revisit a bid if market conditions change, but no further offer details were disclosed.