What Price Could A PayPal Buyout Happen At?

PayPal is a unique situation...

As of today it was reported that Stripe is weighing a potential acquisition of all or part of PayPal, per Bloomberg. The discussions are said to be preliminary, with no formal offer on the table, but Stripe — still privately held and among the most highly valued companies in fintech — has expressed early interest either in acquiring the full digital payments pioneer or selecting pieces of its business.

And as we’re seeing in PayPal’s stock price, even exploratory talks are enough to reset expectations when a company with Stripe’s scale starts circling a former industry leader whose stock has been compressed for years.

PayPal shares have already surged roughly 20% over the past week on the renewed takeover speculation. Is this a “sell the news” event now — or worth holding out for more on PayPal. Here’s my thoughts.