According to a report from Semafor, PayPal may not be pursuing an acquisition. This information comes from people familiar with the matter. Earlier in the week, Bloomberg reported that Stripe had expressed interest in buying some or all of PayPal Holdings. This potential acquisition would include the flagship PayPal product and its services, as well as other companies like Venmo.
Stripe declined to comment on the news. However, unnamed sources tell Semafor that Stripe has been working with bankers to prepare for a possible activist investor campaign or a hostile takeover. Those bankers were reportedly working with Alex Chriss, PayPal’s now-ousted CEO.
PayPal has stated that its new CEO will start next week. The company did not respond to a request for comment from TechCrunch.