PayPal reportedly in talks to sell itself to Stripe and Advent International

The Wall Street Journal reported on 17 August 2026 that PayPal is in talks to sell itself to a consortium of Stripe and Advent International. A July proposal of USD 60.50 per share, valuing PayPal at roughly USD 53bn, was judged insufficient and talks continue over a higher price. No agreement has been reached, none of the three parties has confirmed the talks, and there is no guarantee a deal follows.

PayPal and Stripe are the two largest non-bank acceptance brands in European e-commerce, and PayPal is the single most-offered online method at German checkouts. A combination would put both the wallet and one of the largest PSPs under one owner, which is a competition question for the EC and a concentration question for every merchant that runs them as separate rails.

Reported talks are not a deal, but they reprice the strategic assumptions behind PSP selection and Braintree contract renewals.

• Any confirmation or denial from PayPal, Stripe or Advent
• A filed offer price
• The first signal of how DG COMP would view a Stripe/PayPal overlap in European online acceptance

• thepaypers.com