Fintech giant Stripe and private equity firm Advent International are weighing their next move after PayPal rejected their $53-billion buyout offer, even as Stripe pursues a potential $10-billion acquisition of AI marketplace OpenRouter.

  • Stripe and Advent International are considering their options following PayPal's rejection of an unsolicited $53-billion acquisition offer deemed too low. 
  • Stripe is concurrently in discussions to purchase OpenRouter, an AI model routing platform.
  • An acquisition of OpenRouter would allow Stripe—valued at $159 billion—to expand beyond payments and stablecoins into high-growth AI infrastructure.

Payments giant Stripe Inc. and private equity firm Advent International are currently considering their next move regarding PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL) after the company rejected an unsolicited $53-billion takeover attempt.

The deliberations come as Stripe simultaneously pursues an acquisition of AI startup OpenRouter in a deal that could value the target at around $10 billion.

PayPal viewed the recent buyout offer from Stripe and Advent as too low, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. Stripe and Advent are still weighing their next move with respect to PayPal, sources told WSJ.

PYPL stock slipped about 2% after-hours on Thursday. 

Stripe’s Move From Fintech To AI Player

A potential takeover of OpenRouter would represent a significant push by Stripe into artificial intelligence infrastructure. Founded in 2023, OpenRouter operates a marketplace software platform that allows developers and corporate customers to test, compare, and integrate hundreds of large language models.

The platform supports commercial systems from major providers like OpenAI and Anthropic. The service has gained popularity among businesses seeking to manage operational costs and avoid relying on a single AI provider.

Stripe, which achieved a $159 billion valuation earlier this year, already maintains an operational relationship with OpenRouter, providing the processing services that handle the startup's customer billing.

Stripe-Advent-PayPal Takeover Details 

Payments processor Stripe Inc. and private equity firm Advent International submitted an unsolicited joint takeover offer to acquire PayPal Holdings Inc. for $60.50 per share, valuing the digital payments firm at over $53 billion. 

Backed by roughly $50 billion in committed bank financing, the proposed transaction would establish an equal 50/50 partnership between Stripe and Advent. Media reports indicated that PayPal’s board views the offer price as too low given long-term value expectations, leaving Stripe and Advent to determine whether to raise their offer or step back. 

PYPL Stock: Retail View 

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits was ‘bullish’ with ‘high’ message volumes. Retail chatter on the stock has slipped 17% over the previous session but is up 20% over the past month. 

PYPL stock has lost 6.4% year-to-date. 

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