Advent International and payment processor Stripe have abandoned a reported acquisition of PayPal valued at about $53 billion, or $60.50 a share, removing a takeover premium that had supported the stock for more than a month and sending shares down roughly 11% to 12% to near $54.46 from Thursday’s $61.47 close after steeper premarket losses. The selloff comes weeks after David Einhorn’s DME Capital Management—his investment firm and the successor to Greenlight Capital—disclosed a new 1.4 million-share PayPal stake in a second-quarter filing, a position that predates Friday’s decline and points to a thesis built on the standalone business rather than a completed deal. PayPal had viewed the $60.50 offer as too low, and Reuters reported that disagreements over valuation and potential regulatory complications helped break down the talks; shares climbed nearly 30% after the July approach became public as investors priced in takeover odds, following a broader quarter-long rally of more than 40% also fed by stronger second-quarter results, when total payment volume rose 10% to $486.45 billion. Prediction markets have assigned only a low single-digit to about 10% chance of a Stripe deal involving any part of PayPal in 2026. Under CEO Enrique Lores, who replaced Alex Chriss in March, PayPal has raised its 2026 earnings outlook, outlined further cost savings, and reorganized around checkout, consumer financial services, Venmo, and payments and crypto—including its PYUSD stablecoin—while competing with Apple, Google, Stripe, and other platforms; with the catalyst gone, further upside hinges on operational improvements and whether the turnaround can create more value than the abandoned bid implied.