GameStop Corp. has launched an unsolicited $56 billion bid to acquire industry pioneer eBay Inc., GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen told The Wall Street Journal – a rare “David vs. Goliath” attempt by the videogame retailer to swallow a company nearly four times its market size.
Under terms of the proposal, GameStop is offering $125 per share in a combination of cash and stock, roughly a 20% premium over eBay’s closing stock price on Friday. To lay the groundwork for the acquisition, GameStop has already accumulated a 5% stake in eBay and secured a $20 billion debt financing commitment from TD Bank.
Financial logistics of the deal are striking. GameStop has a market value of approximately $12 billion compared to eBay’s $46 billion capitalization. While GameStop maintains $9 billion in cash on its balance sheet, the total $56 billion price tag remains a steep climb. Sources familiar with the matter suggest Cohen may tap external partners, including Middle Eastern sovereign-wealth funds, to provide the additional capital required to finalize the transaction.
Ryan Cohen, the activist investor who gained a cult-like following during the 2021 meme-stock craze, expressed confidence in the potential synergy between the two firms. Cohen previously co-founded the online pet-supply giant Chewy and has spent the last year streamlining GameStop by closing international operations and focusing on high-margin collectibles.
“EBay should be worth — and will be worth — a lot more money,” Cohen told the Journal. “I’m thinking about turning eBay into something worth hundreds of billions of dollars. It could be a legit competitor to Amazon.”
Cohen’s strategy involves a clicks-to-bricks integration. He envisions utilizing GameStop’s physical storefronts as centers to collect and authenticate high-value items for eBay sellers. He also plans to pivot the platform toward “live commerce,” where brands and individual sellers interact with shoppers via real-time video streams — a format that has seen massive success in Asian markets.
The bid is currently unsolicited, and neither eBay nor TD Bank immediately commented. Cohen, however, signaled that he was prepared for a fight. If eBay’s board proves unreceptive to the proposal, Cohen told the Journal that he is ready to launch a proxy fight and take the offer directly to the shareholders.
Such a move faces a tight timeline; eBay’s window for nominating director candidates for the upcoming June annual meeting has already closed, potentially complicating a board-level takeover in the immediate term.
The announcement sent eBay shares surging 12% in after-hours trading, though Wall Street remains divided. Some analysts, including those at Bernstein, questioned the necessity of the deal, noting that eBay’s current turnaround strategy, which includes artificial intelligence (AI) integration and a 6.5% workforce reduction, is already showing promise. eBay recently reported an 18% increase in gross merchandise volume.
If the deal proceeds, it would represent one of the most audacious mergers in retail history, fueled by Cohen’s personal incentive to see GameStop’s valuation reach $100 billion, a milestone that could trigger a multibillion-dollar payday for the CEO.
