PayPal CEO Enrique Lores has a turnaround plan for the fintech company, and it might involve selling the whole darn thing. The idea first surfaced in July when Stripe and private equity behemoth Advent offered to buy PayPal for $60.50 a share, valuing the company at $53 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. PayPal said thanks but no thanks at the time. But apparently, talks never really ended, and a deal could materialize in the coming weeks, the WSJ reported, citing unnamed sources (because of course).

PayPal declined to comment on the report, while a Stripe spokesperson said the company doesn't "comment on rumors or speculation" - which is corporate-speak for 'we can neither confirm nor deny that we're kicking the tires.'

These negotiations are happening as Lores tries to rescue PayPal from its less-than-stellar trajectory. Lores joined in March after years at HP, and in April he started shaking things up: an executive shuffle and a split of the business into three operating models: checkout solutions and PayPal, consumer financial services (and Venmo), and payment services and crypto. A month later, he told investors PayPal would recommit to "the fundamentals," including "becoming a technology company again." Because apparently it had become something else? A holding company for nostalgia?

PayPal's turnaround also involves cost-saving plans that will cut its workforce by 20% over the next two to three years. Nothing says 'we're a technology company again' like firing a fifth of your employees.

PayPal was founded in 1998 by a bunch of guys who went on to become Silicon Valley royalty, including Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Max Levchin, and Luke Nosek. The company boomed during the pandemic thanks to an e-commerce surge, but has struggled since. So, yes, selling itself might be the ultimate turnaround plan - or at least one way to stop the bleeding.