The $53 billion "digital payments century acquisition" falls through! PayPal (PYPL.US) plunges over 15% pre-market, merger premium evaporates instantly.

智通财经APP has learned that, according to reports from sources cited by the media, a consortium formed by private equity firm Advent International and digital payments giant Stripe has officially abandoned its acquisition of PayPal (PYPL.US), leading to the latter's pre-market U.S. stock price to plummet over 15% to around $51.70. The consortium had previously offered $60.50 per share for a total of approximately $53 billion, but the PayPal board rejected the offer due to undervaluation; compared to PayPal's historical peak valuation of around $360 billion during the global online payment boom amid the 2021 pandemic, this offer represents only a fraction of that amount.