By AP and ReutersPublished On 4 May 20264 May 2026GameStop made an unsolicited $56bn bid to acquire e-commerce giant eBay—a company with a market value nearly four times higher—as the video game retailer seeks to boost profitability.eBay confirmed the offer on Monday and said that there had been no prior discussion or outreach with GameStop before receiving the offer.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listGameStop, which is worth roughly $12bn, is attempting to buy the online bidding giant in a deal that would consist of half cash and half stock buyout, with just around $9bn in cash and a debt load of $4.2bn.GameStop disclosed over the weekend that it has already built a 5 percent stake in eBay and touted $20bn in potential debt financing from TD Securities to convince shareholders of the deal.CEO Ryan Cohen argued he could replicate his cost-cutting playbook at GameStop to boost eBay’s profitability, while tapping GameStop’s approximately 1,600 US stores into a physical network to make eBay a better competitor to Amazon.“We have the ability to issue stock in order to get the deal done,” Cohen told CNBC in an interview.GameStop said it is looking to lower costs at eBay, stating that the online seller spent $2.4bn on sales and marketing in fiscal 2025 while only adding 1 million net active buyers. GameStop claims it will achieve $2bn in annualised cost cuts within a year of the proposed transaction’s closing.Cohen, who owns about 9 percent of GameStop, would serve as CEO of the combined company. He would only be compensated based on the combined company’s performance.Cohen became CEO of GameStop in 2023. At the time, the position had become a revolving door, with the company t …
