Affirm CEO Max Levchin sets a very high bar for M&A amid PayPal takeover speculation

Corporate Action
โดย Yahoo Finance·Read original
Summary · why it matters

Affirm CEO and PayPal co-founder Max Levchin said his company maintains a very high bar for mergers and acquisitions, even as PayPal reportedly attracts a takeover offer exceeding $53 billion from Stripe and Advent International. Speaking on Yahoo Finance's Power Players podcast, Levchin noted that while Affirm is a large public company that does evaluate deals, it is hard to justify the dilution or cash expense when organic growth is strong. He added that M&A generally has a low probability of success, so the threshold to dilute shareholders is extremely high. The comments come as Stripe, valued at $180 billion, reportedly bid $60.50 per share for PayPal, a premium to recent trading but far below PayPal's 2021 record near $300.

Impact on stocks 4

Digital Finance & Tokenization± Mixed · 3 stocks
Affirm Holdings Inc
AFRM
▲ PositiveCapitalrelevance

CEO says M&A bar is very high, reducing dilution risk and signaling focus on organic growth.

PayPal Holdings Inc
PYPL
▼ NegativeCapitalrelevance

Reported takeover bid at $60.50/share is far below 2021 peak, and CEO comments suggest deal may not happen.

Electrification & Mobility▲ · 1 stocks

Off-coverage companies 2

Advent InternationalPrivate± Mixed
Capitalrelevance

Advent International is mentioned as part of a consortium bidding for PayPal; impact unclear.

Stripe, Inc.Private± Mixed
Capitalrelevance

Stripe is mentioned as the lead bidder for PayPal; impact on Stripe itself is not discussed.

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