Stripe Reportedly Interested in Possible PayPal Deal

Stripe is evaluating a potential acquisition involving PayPal Holdings, according to reports citing sources familiar with early stage discussions. No agreement has been reached and talks may not lead to a transaction.

Good to Know

• Stripe recently announced a tender offer valuing the company at $159 billion.
• Investors in the share purchase include Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive Capital.
• PayPal remains publicly traded with a market capitalization near $40 billion.

Interest in a deal surfaced the same day Stripe published its annual letter outlining business updates and capital activity. The company said it would repurchase shares while allowing investors to buy stock from employees through the tender offer.

New valuation represents a 74 percent increase from the prior year and reinforces Stripe status as one of the most highly valued private fintech companies globally.

Leadership continues to signal no urgency to enter public markets. Co founder and Chief Executive Patrick Collison said in a recent interview that pursuing an initial public offering is not a current priority.

PayPal operates as a listed company whose ecosystem includes its core payments platform along with services such as Venmo. Shares in PayPal moved slightly higher following reports of Stripe interest.

Stripe declined to comment on the reported discussions.

Potential combination would unite two major digital payments infrastructures, pairing Stripe strength in developer focused commerce tools with PayPal long standing consumer network. Any formal proposal would still face regulatory review and shareholder considerations given PayPal public listing status.