PayPal’s Buyout Stalled Over Price, So Its New CEO Is Pitching a Makeover
Stripe and Advent International offered about $60.50 a share, and the stock has slid back to $53. New CEO Enrique Lores wants to fix PayPal on its own, with Venmo at the center.
By Sean Anees Saifi · Capital Wealth · Published Tuesday, September 15, 2026 · Source: The Wall Street Journal, September 15, 2026 edition (Business & Finance)
Key Points
Stripe and private-equity firm Advent International offered about $60.50 a share for PayPal (PYPL), but the sides stayed far apart on price.
The stock, which had topped $62, is back down to $53; the Journal notes deal talks could still restart.
New CEO Enrique Lores wants to cut costs by billions and give PayPal’s checkout button better rewards and a smoother experience.
Venmo is meant to become a one-stop money app; buy-now-pay-later is planned, plus three undisclosed product launches in the coming year.
Lores earns a $25 million bonus if shares average above $68 for 60 days, and could make more than $60 million at a $125 average.
$60.50
per-share value of the stalled Stripe-Advent offer
$53
PayPal’s share price now, after topping $62
$25M
CEO bonus if shares average above $68
With buyout talks stalled and shares back at $53, new CEO Enrique Lores is selling investors on a stand-alone PayPal built around Venmo as a one-stop money app.
In one line: PayPal’s buyout offer stalled over price, so its new CEO is pitching cost cuts and a bigger Venmo — a reminder that an offer isn’t a payout.
Earlier this summer, PayPal (PYPL) shareholders could practically hear the cash register. Rival Stripe and private-equity firm Advent International had floated an offer valued at about $60.50 a share. Then talks stalled, with the sides far apart on price. The stock had topped $62. Now it’s back at $53, and new CEO Enrique Lores is pitching a PayPal that stays independent.
The go-it-alone pitch
Lores, 61, spent decades at HP (HPQ), rising from engineer to the top job and designing its breakup. A former PayPal chair, he was moved into the CEO seat in February, surprising analysts and some investors. In his first pitch since the talks reportedly stalled, he said management used its own strategy “as a benchmark to compare any other alternatives.”
The plan: cut costs by billions of dollars and give the old PayPal checkout button better rewards and a smoother experience. Its usage has plateaued since rival digital wallets became dominant. Venmo is the big swing. It’s popular but earns meager profits, and Lores wants it to become a one-stop money app where people budget and invest.
Users can already park money in PYUSD, an in-house stablecoin — a crypto token pegged to the dollar — and earn rewards akin to interest. A buy-now-pay-later feature and three undisclosed launches are on the way. Rivals aren’t idling: Revolut just won conditional approval to become a national bank, while PayPal’s own Utah charter application, filed in December, is still pending.
Holding out for a takeout
His pay package hints at how much value management thinks is possible. He’d earn a $25 million bonus if the stock averages above $68 for 60 days, and could make more than $60 million if it averages $125. By our arithmetic, $68 sits about 28% above the current $53. For now, investors aren’t sold.
For anyone holding a stock for the takeout — the price a buyer pays to take over a company — here’s the awkward part. An offer isn’t money until a deal is signed and closed. As an illustration, on 500 shares the gap between the roughly $60.50 offer and $53 comes to about $3,750. The Journal notes talks could restart. But you can’t spend could.
What It Means For Your Portfolio
Watch — an offer isn’t a payout
If a hoped-for buyout is your main reason to own a stock, judge the business as if the offer’s gone — a stalled bid pays nothing.
A takeover bid can lift a stock quickly, and a stall can let the air back out. Until a deal closes, you own the business, not the check. So ask a plain question: would you buy this company at the current price on its own plan? If the honest answer is no, that’s worth a conversation. General planning principles, not advice for anyone in particular.
We don’t own PayPal, so nothing in the Capital Wealth portfolios changes because of this story. We’re cautious, neutral on stocks, avoiding leveraged speculation and buying nothing new before the Fed decision on Wednesday. The household move: list what you hold mainly for a hoped-for deal, with your no-deal answer beside it. Bring that and your statement for fifteen minutes — a promised umbrella, like a promised deal, keeps nobody dry.
