Talks to sell PayPal to Stripe and Advent reportedly heating up again
Negotiations over a potential sale of PayPal to Stripe and private equity firm Advent have continued despite PayPal rejecting an initial offer in July, with a deal possibly coming together in the next few weeks, according to new reporting.
According to a new Wall Street Journal report citing unnamed sources, talks over a possible sale of PayPal have continued even after the company turned down an initial buyout offer in July. At the time, Stripe and private equity firm Advent had proposed acquiring PayPal for $60.50 per share, valuing the company at roughly $53 billion.
PayPal declined to comment on the new report, while a Stripe spokesperson said the company does not comment on rumors or speculation.
A turnaround plan already underway
The renewed talks come as PayPal CEO Enrique Lores works to reverse the company's declining trajectory. Lores joined PayPal in March after spending years at HP. In April, he began implementing his turnaround strategy, which included reshuffling the executive team and reorganizing the business into three units: checkout solutions and PayPal, consumer financial services including Venmo, and payment services and crypto.
A month later, Lores told investors PayPal would refocus on its fundamentals and aim to become a technology company again. The turnaround plan also includes cost-cutting measures, with the company expected to reduce its workforce by 20% over the next two to three years.
PayPal was founded in 1998 by a group of entrepreneurs who later became prominent Silicon Valley figures, including Peter Thiel, Elon Musk and Max Levchin. In recent years the company has struggled following a period of rapid growth driven by the e-commerce boom during the pandemic.
