PayPal shares dropped 13% following reports that a consortium of Advent International and Stripe had abandoned its plans to acquire the payments company.

According to the reports, the consortium had put forward an offer of $60.50 per share, which valued PayPal at approximately $53 billion. Had it proceeded, the deal would have ranked among the largest take-privates of a US financial technology company on record. The proposed deal was reportedly derailed by a combination of valuation concerns and regulatory hurdles.

The collapse of the bid adds fresh pressure to PayPal as it continues its ongoing turnaround efforts. The company has spent recent years working to reaccelerate growth in its core branded checkout business while expanding into areas such as its Venmo peer-to-peer platform and merchant services, as competition from Apple Pay and other digital wallets has intensified at the online checkout.

PayPal Holdings, listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker PYPL, is one of the largest digital payments companies in the world, best known for its eponymous online payment platform used by consumers and merchants globally. Advent International is a global private equity firm with a long track record of investments in payments and financial technology, while Stripe is a privately held payments infrastructure company that processes online transactions for businesses worldwide.

The development comes amid a period in which large technology and financial services acquisitions have faced heightened scrutiny from regulators in the United States and elsewhere, with authorities increasingly focused on competition in the payments sector. Whether PayPal pursues other strategic options or doubles down on its standalone plan under CEO Alex Chriss, who has led a push to streamline operations and improve margins, is likely to be a focal point for investors in the coming quarters.

Source: Economic Times Markets