Irish billionaire brothers John and Patrick Collison have made a $53 billion bid to acquire payments company PayPal in partnership with American private equity firm Advent International. The joint offer values PayPal at $60.50 per share, representing a premium of approximately 28 percent over its recent closing price. The proposal was reportedly submitted earlier this month, although PayPal has not engaged with the offer publicly.

Founded in 2010 by the Collison brothers, Ireland-born entrepreneurs who relocated to the United States as teenagers, their company Stripe has quickly grown into a leading payments provider with a valuation near $159 billion. The firm processes significant volumes of ecommerce transactions and has dual headquarters in San Francisco and Dublin. If successful, the deal would combine Stripe’s primarily business-oriented technology with PayPal’s consumer-facing payment platform, potentially reshaping the digital payments landscape.

PayPal, which was launched in the late 1990s by Peter Thiel and others, later merged with Elon Musk’s online financial services company X.com. Over the years, PayPal grew to become a major player in digital payments. However, Its valuation has declined sharply from a peak of over $360 billion around 2019 to roughly one-fifth of that figure, amid intensifying competition from firms including Stripe, Apple Pay, and Klarna. PayPal shares have dropped 19 percent this year, and by more than 80 percent since 2021.

The payment giant has faced headwinds in recent years, struggling to maintain growth under pressure from emerging rivals and changes in the industry. In 2023, it replaced its then-CEO Alex Chriss with Enrique Lores in efforts to stabilize the company. Despite these efforts, PayPal remains vulnerable to acquisition.

Stripe’s bid, backed by $50 billion in bank financing, marks a significant ambition for the privately held fintech with backing from high-profile figures in technology, including early investors Musk and Thiel. The bid reflects a potential turning point in Silicon Valley’s payments sector, where newer firms like Stripe are challenging longstanding incumbents.

Neither Stripe, Advent International, nor PayPal have provided comments on the bid. The offer represents one of the largest takeover attempts in the fintech industry to date and could signal deeper consolidation in the digital payment services market if completed.