- GameStop offered $55.5 billion cash-and-stock bid to acquire eBay at $125 per share
- The deal values eBay at a 20% premium over its last closing price and includes $20B debt
- GameStop plans to cut $2 billion in eBay costs and use 1,600 stores for eBay services
GameStop has made an unsolicited, non-binding offer to acquire eBay in a cash-and-stock deal valued at around $55.5 billion, according to a statement cited in a CNBC report.
The proposal offers $125 per share, representing a 20% premium to eBay's last close of $104.07 and a 46% premium to its February 4 closing price, when GameStop began building its stake in the company.
Under the terms, the deal would be financed through a combination of cash, GameStop stock, and debt, including a commitment letter from TD Bank for up to $20 billion. The company said it will also deploy part of its roughly $9.4 billion cash reserve.
Shares of eBay jumped as much as 13.4% in after-hours trading, while GameStop rose about 4%, reflecting investor skepticism over deal execution, given the target's significantly larger size.
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GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen, speaking to the Wall Street Journal, said he sees a path to transform eBay into a far larger rival to Amazon.
“EBay should be worth — and will be worth — a lot more money,” Cohen said. “I'm thinking about turning eBay into something worth hundreds of billions of dollars.”
He added: “It's gonna be really big. Really big. Very, very, very big.”
Cohen, who previously built online retailer Chewy and later became a central figure in GameStop's meme-stock surge, has positioned the company for an aggressive expansion beyond gaming retail. He has already overseen cost cuts and store closures since taking a more active leadership role.
GameStop said it plans to cut up to $2 billion in annual costs at eBay within a year, targeting what it called bloated sales and marketing expenses. It also argued that eBay's user growth has stalled despite heavy spending.
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The company further proposed using its 1,600 U.S. retail stores as physical infrastructure for eBay's marketplace, supporting authentication, fulfilment, and live commerce.
The bid remains subject to approval from eBay's board, regulators, and shareholders. eBay has not yet responded publicly.
As per report, the deal highlights GameStop's ambition to reposition itself far beyond its origins as a video game retailer—though analysts continue to question whether a $12 billion company can realistically acquire a firm nearly four times its size.
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