- GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen made an unsolicited $56 billion offer to acquire eBay at $125 per share — a roughly 20% premium to its Friday close — in a 50% cash, 50% GameStop stock deal backed by a $20 billion TD Bank commitment letter.
- Cohen built a roughly 5% stake in eBay starting Feb. 4 and says he sees a path to make eBay “worth hundreds of billions of dollars” by turning it into a direct competitor to Amazon.
- The deal would integrate GameStop’s brick-and-mortar stores as authentication and collection hubs for eBay sellers, and Cohen flagged live-commerce as a major untapped opportunity.
- Cohen stands to earn as much as $35 billion in GameStop stock personally if the combined company hits a $100 billion market cap — a compensation structure approved by GameStop’s board earlier this year.
What Happened?
Ryan Cohen delivered an offer letter to eBay’s board on Sunday proposing to acquire the e-commerce company for roughly $56 billion — $125 per share in a 50/50 cash-and-stock split. GameStop has secured a $20 billion commitment letter from TD Bank and holds approximately a 5% stake in eBay, which it began accumulating on Feb. 4. Cohen told the Journal he intends to serve as CEO of the combined company without salary, compensated solely on performance. If eBay resists, Cohen said he is prepared to run a proxy fight and take the offer directly to shareholders — though the deadline to nominate directors ahead of eBay’s June annual meeting has already passed.
Why It Matters?
The bid is audacious by almost any measure: GameStop is valued at roughly $12 billion, meaning Cohen is attempting to acquire a company nearly five times its size. But Cohen has pulled off improbable turnarounds before, and eBay’s own strategic pivot toward collectibles, trading cards, and niche categories already overlaps with GameStop’s core business. Cohen’s thesis — that GameStop stores can serve as physical authentication hubs for eBay’s marketplace while live-commerce unlocks a new revenue layer — offers a differentiated angle on e-commerce that neither company has pursued at scale. Still, Wall Street analysts are skeptical, with Bernstein noting that eBay’s turnaround is already working and questioning why shareholders would want the disruption.
What’s Next?
eBay’s board must now formally respond to the offer. A rejection would likely trigger Cohen’s promised proxy fight, setting up a shareholder showdown this summer. Financing beyond the $20 billion TD Bank commitment remains an open question — Cohen may need sovereign-wealth funds or other large outside investors to bridge the gap. Watch for eBay’s official statement, any counter-offer or engagement, and whether GameStop’s stock holds up well enough to make the share-swap component attractive to eBay investors.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
