GameStop has submitted an unsolicited, non-binding offer to acquire eBay for approximately $55.5 billion.
The bid, announced on Sunday by GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen, values eBay at $125 per share a 20% premium to eBay’s Friday closing price of $104.07, and a 46% premium to where eBay’s stock sat on February 4, the day GameStop first began quietly buying into the company.
The offer is structured as a 50-50 split of cash and GameStop common stock, with full shareholder election rights.
If completed, the deal would rank among the largest acquisitions in retail history and position a combined GameStop-eBay platform as a direct challenger to Amazon.
Cohen’s Ambitions
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Cohen laid out an expansive vision for what a merged company could become.
“eBay should be worth and will be worth a lot more money,” he said, adding that he is “thinking about turning eBay into something worth hundreds of billions of dollars.”
Cohen, who founded pet supplies retailer Chewy before taking the reins at GameStop, made no secret of his appetite for a major acquisition.
In January 2026, GameStop unveiled a compensation package that would reward him with options on over 171 million shares if he lifted the company’s market value to $100 billion.
Under the proposed deal, Cohen would serve as CEO of the combined company and has stated he would be paid solely based on the performance of the merged entity.
How the Deal Would Be Financed
Funding a $55.5 billion acquisition is no small feat for a company of GameStop’s size.
GameStop has secured a non-binding “highly confident letter” from TD Bank for approximately $20 billion in debt financing.
The remainder of the cash portion would come from GameStop’s existing balance sheet, which holds around $9.4 billion in cash and liquid investments.
Cohen also indicated he may seek additional backing from external investors, including Middle Eastern sovereign-wealth funds.
The Strategic Case: Stores as Infrastructure
Beyond the financials, GameStop’s pitch centres on an argument that few would have expected from a struggling games retailer: that its physical store network is an asset in the age of digital commerce.
GameStop’s roughly 1,600 U.S. retail locations would give eBay a national network for product authentication, intake, fulfilment, and live commerce capabilities.
GameStop also pledged to cut $2 billion in annual costs within 12 months of closing, targeting eBay’s sales and marketing budget which totalled $2.4 billion in fiscal 2025 while net active buyer growth remained below 0.75%.
The company estimates that cost reductions alone would lift eBay’s diluted GAAP earnings per share from $4.26 to $7.79 in the first year.
Market Reaction
Markets responded sharply when the story first broke on Friday evening. eBay shares jumped more than 13% in after-hours trading, while GameStop climbed around 4%.
Both stocks rose further after GameStop’s formal announcement on Sunday.
At the time the bid became public, GameStop carried a market capitalisation of around $11.8 billion making the proposed acquisition of a company worth roughly four times its own size a remarkable, high-risk manoeuvre.
The Amazon Question
The deal’s stated aim is to position the combined company as a credible rival to Amazon.
Cohen told the Journal he saw a clear path to making eBay a much bigger competitor to Amazon.
A merged platform would bring together eBay’s global marketplace, its large seller community, and GameStop’s physical retail footprint for fulfilment and authentication.
Amazon’s advantages: its logistics network, Prime membership base, and advertising business remain formidable, however.
Narrowing that lead would require sustained execution over many years.
Risks and What Comes Next
The offer is non-binding and subject to negotiation, regulatory scrutiny, and eBay board approval.
Cohen told the Journal he is prepared to take the proposal directly to shareholders in a proxy fight if eBay’s board proves unreceptive.
Key risks include the scale of the debt burden, the complexity of integrating two very different companies, and questions about whether GameStop’s stock historically volatile as a meme-driven asset is reliable acquisition currency.
eBay has not yet issued a public response. The deal remains at an early and highly uncertain stage.
