PayPal is not currently engaged in sale negotiations with Stripe or any other potential suitors, despite recent market speculation.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the payments giant has spent several months working alongside investment bankers to “prepare for a potential activist campaign or unwanted takeover bid,” as first reported by Semafor.
“This strategic pivot towards a defensive posture follows a significant slump in PayPal’s share price,” the report stated.
Executives reportedly feared the decline would leave the firm “vulnerable” to hostile approaches or predatory acquisitions.
Consequently, the company has been shoring up its internal structures to resist outside pressure.
The preparation process originally began under the leadership of former CEO Alex Chriss, who was ousted earlier this year.
However, the urgency of these manoeuvres has been highlighted this week following a Bloomberg report suggesting that Stripe—a major private competitor—is weighing an acquisition of “all or parts of” the company.
While PayPal has declined to comment on the rumours, the timing is particularly sensitive as the company sits in a period of corporate “interregnum.”
Incoming CEO Enrique Lores is scheduled to officially start his tenure next week, inheriting a firm that is currently bracing for potential instability.