Following a report that GameStop intends to purchase eBay, CEO Ryan Cohen has confirmed that he delivered an unsolicited acquisition proposal to the company as it builds on its recent comeback. This bid for eBay sparks some questions and quite a bit of intrigue, as GameStop itself isn’t in too great a place financially, and eBay even outranks it in the market.
GameStop has been in somewhat of a strange place for the past decade. The once-popular video game retailer has struggled to keep pace with a growing digital-only video game industry and the retailing giant that is Amazon, forcing it to pivot to licensed merchandise and baseball card sales. Recently, GameStop has even dipped its toes into retro game reselling at select stores. As of 2023, the company found itself under new leadership, now led by Ryan Cohen, dubbed GameStop’s “Meme King,” following its stock short squeeze craze in 2021. Meanwhile, eBay has also seen its fair share of financial challenges as companies like Amazon continue to put pressure on the reselling marketplace. While eBay has sought to improve its bottom line, sellers have begun reporting lower sales volumes amid rising fees and reduced profit margins.
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GameStop Wants to Buy eBay at a Premium
Now, GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen has stated his intention to acquire eBay to the tune of $125.00 per share, for a total of $55.5 billion. GameStop’s official investor release states that this price is at 46% over eBay’s closing price on February 4, 2026, when GameStop first bought into the company. For reference, GameStop was valued at roughly $25.00 per share, with a market cap of roughly $11 billion, during that same time. Cohen has stated that the merger of GameStop and eBay could create a serious competitor to Amazon, which has been the common competitor to both companies.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)
EBay has confirmed that it has received an unsolicited, non-binding proposal from GameStop, stating that no conversations were had with the company prior to this proposal. The eBay Board of Directors will be reviewing the proposal and evaluating what is best for eBay and the shareholders going forward, urging shareholders to take no action at this time. However, if GameStop’s offer is denied, it won’t be taking no for an answer. Should eBay reject the deal, Cohen has stated that he is ready to launch a hostile bid for the company, aiming to make it worth hundreds of billions of dollars. As of this news, GameStop shares are down 2%, while eBay is up 5%.
It’s been obvious for several years that Amazon has taken significant market share from both GameStop and eBay. Amazon’s logistics, convenience, and Prime membership have made buying from the company that much more enticing to customers than GameStop or eBay, whose shopping experiences have been on the decline in recent years. However, Cohen’s bid to merge GameStop and eBay to take on the retailing giant that is Amazon seems a bit puzzling. This deal would saddle GameStop with massive amounts of debt and merge two companies that have already been fighting an uphill battle against a changing consumer market for a decade, for seemingly weak reasons.
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Ryan Cohen states that this merger could see GameStop stores serving as authentication centers for items sold on eBay, such as trading cards or retro games. GameStop and eBay could potentially corner the vintage collectibles and retro gaming market, which are resale strongholds for eBay and naturally synergistic with GameStop, but these are still niche markets unlikely to drive significant sales for either company. What the future holds for GameStop is anyone’s guess, as the company has proved time and again that it refuses to go down quietly.