I said that payments was the most mispriced sector in the market.
Today, news broke that private payments company Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have made a joint offer to acquire PayPal for $60.50 per share, valuing the company at more than $53 billion. The offer represents a roughly 28% premium to Tuesday's closing price. Stripe and Advent would each own a 50% stake, although the transaction appears to be structured as a leveraged buyout, with banks committing almost all of the financing ($50 billion).
The news follows Global Payments' agreement last year to acquire rival Worldpay for $24.25 billion.
The public market has assigned depressed valuations to high-quality payments businesses, while strategic buyers and private capital continue to pay materially higher prices. It highlights how much unlocked value there is in this sector.
A rerating is long overdue. Perhaps this is the catalyst.
I said that payments was the most mispriced sector in the market.
Today, news broke that private payments company Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have made a joint offer to acquire PayPal for $60.50 per share, valuing the company at more than $53 billion. The offer represents a roughly 28% premium to Tuesday's closing price. Stripe and Advent would each own a 50% stake, although the transaction appears to be structured as a leveraged buyout, with banks committing almost all of the financing ($50 billion).
The news follows Global Payments' agreement last year to acquire rival Worldpay for $24.25 billion.
The public market has assigned depressed valuations to high-quality payments businesses, while strategic buyers and private capital continue to pay materially higher prices. It highlights how much unlocked value there is in this sector.
A rerating is long overdue. Perhaps this is the catalyst.