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US: PayPal’s next acquisition could be Square

By  |  October 1, 2017

PayPal could make a major acquisition worth billions of dollars in the “coming months,” Bernstein analyst Lisa Ellis wrote in a note.

Ellis mentioned some of the largest payment companies as potential acquisition targets, including Square, Stripe, and Adyen. Square, which went public two years ago, has been one of the hottest stocks this year and is now worth more than $10 billion, while Stripe and Adyen are each valued at $9 billion and $2.3 billion, respectively, according to Pitchbook.

Ellis wrote PayPal has been open about its intention to buy growth lately, and has been focused on expanding its geographic footprint and user demographic in order to maintain its mid-20s percent growth rate. The company’s also sitting on a huge pile of cash, which Ellis estimates to be roughly $15 billion in total. The recent merger between Vantiv and Worldpay, and Visa’s minority stake in Klarna could fuel PayPal’s urgency to make a deal happen, as well, she wrote.

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