PayPal’s board believes the acquisition offer from Stripe and Advent is too low, and that it faces regulatory and financing hurdles

PANews July 17 news, citing Reuters reports that sources said that PayPal’s board of directors believes a $53 billion acquisition offer from competitor Stripe and Advent International undervalues the company and faces regulatory and financing obstacles. The sources said PayPal has not yet formally responded; the board is assessing the trade-off between the offer and the management’s turnaround-to-profit strategy. The board’s initial view is that the bid of $60.50 per share, while at a premium to the recent share price, does not fully reflect the company’s future potential.

The acquirers have obtained about $50 billion in financing commitments from JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, plus $17 billion in equity that Stripe and Advent are funding themselves, to support the $53 billion acquisition offer. If antitrust regulations are triggered, the acquirers have considered remedies such as spinning off and transferring the Braintree business to Advent. Block initially participated but withdrew before the latest bid was submitted. Investors will watch PayPal’s earnings report on July 28.