Stripe reportedly explores acquisition of PayPal in potential blockbuster fintech deal

Stripe is reportedly considering an acquisition of PayPal Holdings, according to Bloomberg sources. However, the discussions are in very early stages, and there is no certainty that any deal will ultimately move forward.

The report was released the same day Stripe published its annual letter, which shared several updates about the business. The headline item in that letter was Stripe’s latest tender offer, which values the company at $159 billion — a 74% jump from the valuation tied to last year’s secondary transaction. In this tender offer, investors purchasing employee shares include Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive Capital. Stripe also said it plans to repurchase some of its own stock as part of the process.

That new valuation again positions Stripe as one of the most valuable private companies in technology and fintech. Stripe is headquartered in Dublin, and its co-founder and CEO, Patrick Collison, recently told Collison that going public is not a priority. PayPal, meanwhile, is a publicly traded company. PayPal Holdings includes the core PayPal product and broader services, as well as brands such as Venmo, and currently has a market capitalisation of roughly $40 billion.