Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have reportedly offered $60.50 per share to acquire PayPal, valuing the payments giant at more than $53 billion.
Founded in 2009 by brothers Patrick and John Collison, Stripe built its business by challenging PayPal’s dominance in online payments. It is now attempting to acquire its former rival.
If completed, the combined company would process around $3.7 trillion in annual payment volume, making it the world’s largest merchant acquirer.
For much of the past decade, Stripe was the startup every fintech founder wanted to emulate. Founded by Irish brothers Patrick and John Collison, the company won developers by making online payments dramatically easier than incumbent providers. At the time, PayPal dominated digital commerce, but its products were often criticised for being built for consumers rather than modern internet businesses.
Stripe didn’t try to replace PayPal overnight. It quietly became the infrastructure powering millions of online businesses, from startups to global enterprises.
