Stripe and private-equity firm Advent International have ended their pursuit of PayPal Holdings, abandoning a proposed acquisition valued at about $53 billion, according to Bloomberg News, Reuters and Axios. The withdrawal sent PayPal shares down 12.7% on Friday, August 28, to $53.66 and removed much of the takeover premium in the stock.
The bidders offered $60.50 a share for the digital-payments pioneer, Reuters previously reported. Axios said the transaction would have been the largest fintech acquisition on record. PayPal closed Thursday at $61.47, above the reported offer, after takeover interest helped drive a strong quarterly share-price recovery.
Bloomberg said the group no longer plans to pursue the transaction, citing people familiar with the confidential talks. Reuters later cited another informed person and confirmed the consortium had stopped. PayPal, Stripe and Advent declined to comment, while the reports left open a possible later return by the bidders.
The failed pursuit renews attention on PayPal's growth effort under chief executive Enrique Lores. Its profitable branded-checkout business faces pressure as Apple Pay and Shop Pay gain traction. The payments industry is also exploring artificial-intelligence agents that can find and purchase products for consumers.
PayPal's latest filing shows its scale and challenge. Second-quarter revenue rose 5% from a year earlier to $8.7 billion and total payment volume increased 10% to $486.4 billion. However, operating income under generally accepted accounting principles fell 5% to $1.4 billion, while active accounts edged up only 0.3% to 439 million.
PayPal raised its full-year non-GAAP earnings guidance in July to about $5.38 a share and said its transformation was progressing. Investors must now judge whether improving Venmo and Braintree momentum, steadier branded checkout and cost discipline can produce durable profitable growth. Any renewed bid remains uncertain because the companies have made no public commitment to resume negotiations.
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