He's betting he can find $2 billion in annual savings and transform the whole thing.
In a move that tests the outer limits of corporate ambition, GameStop's Ryan Cohen has extended an unsolicited $56 billion bid to acquire eBay — a company four times GameStop's own size — offering $125 per share with debt financing secured from TD Bank. The proposal arrives as GameStop itself continues to shrink in the physical retail landscape, even as Cohen envisions a combined entity worth hundreds of billions. It is, at its core, a wager that audacity and cash reserves can bridge the distance between decline and reinvention — and that shareholders, not boards, will ultimately decide whether the leap is worth taking.
- A struggling brick-and-mortar gaming retailer has just made one of the most audacious unsolicited takeover bids in recent memory, targeting an e-commerce giant four times its own market value.
- GameStop's own revenue fell 14 percent last quarter, while eBay is outperforming expectations — making the power asymmetry of this deal as striking as its sheer scale.
- Cohen has secured $20 billion in debt financing from TD Bank and holds a 5 percent stake in eBay, signaling this is not a speculative gesture but a prepared offensive.
- Analysts warn the deal faces long odds, citing shareholder dilution, execution complexity, and the challenge of merging two fundamentally different business cultures.
- If eBay's board refuses, Cohen has indicated he is willing to take the fight directly to shareholders through a proxy battle — raising the stakes for everyone involved.
Ryan Cohen is attempting something that few executives would dare: a bid to acquire a company four times the size of his own. On May 3, GameStop made an unsolicited offer to buy eBay for roughly $56 billion in cash and stock, proposing $125 per share — a 20 percent premium to eBay's May 1 closing price. GameStop had already quietly accumulated a 5 percent stake in eBay and secured a $20 billion debt financing commitment from TD Bank. The company also pledged to find $2 billion in annual cost savings within the first year of any completed deal.
The contrast between the two companies sharpens the audacity of the move. GameStop, with a market cap of around $12 billion and roughly $9 billion in cash, reported a 14 percent drop in fourth-quarter revenue as consumers continue their migration to digital storefronts. eBay, meanwhile, just issued a second-quarter revenue forecast above Wall Street expectations, driven by collectibles, motor accessories, and a new live-streaming auction feature.
Cohen has spoken openly about his vision: a combined company potentially worth hundreds of billions, with himself at the helm and compensation tied entirely to the merged entity's performance. Earlier this year, GameStop had already structured a package that would reward Cohen with options on over 171 million shares if he could push the company's market value to $100 billion — a target this deal is clearly designed to serve.
Analysts remain unconvinced. Bloomberg Intelligence researchers acknowledged some overlap in collectibles and resale markets but assessed the probability of the deal closing as low, pointing to execution risk and the dilution any credible offer would require. Cohen, for his part, has made clear he is prepared to bypass the board entirely and bring the question directly to eBay's shareholders if necessary.
Ryan Cohen is trying to buy a company four times the size of his own. On May 3, GameStop made an unsolicited offer to acquire eBay for approximately $56 billion in a combination of cash and stock—a move that would rank among the most audacious takeover bids in recent memory. The gaming retailer, which has spent years contracting its physical footprint as digital distribution reshaped its industry, is now proposing to absorb one of the internet's oldest and largest marketplaces.
The offer values eBay at $125 per share, a 20 percent premium to where the stock closed on May 1. GameStop has already accumulated roughly a 5 percent stake in eBay and secured a commitment from TD Bank to provide $20 billion in debt financing to help fund the acquisition. In a letter to investors, Cohen's company pledged to identify approximately $2 billion in annual cost savings within the first year after a deal closes. The math is stark: GameStop itself had a market value of $12 billion as of May 1, while eBay was valued around $46 billion. GameStop does have roughly $9 billion in cash on hand, which provides some ballast for the proposal.
Cohen has made clear he is prepared to take this fight to shareholders if eBay's board rejects the offer. In conversations with the Wall Street Journal, he suggested the combined company could eventually be worth hundreds of billions of dollars—a characteristically ambitious claim from a figure who has already reshaped GameStop's trajectory. Earlier this year, GameStop unveiled a compensation package that would reward Cohen with options on over 171 million shares if he could lift the company's market value to $100 billion. In his May 3 statement, he indicated he would take the helm of any merged entity but accept compensation based solely on the performance of that combined firm.
The proposal arrives at a moment of genuine divergence between the two companies. GameStop reported a 14 percent decline in fourth-quarter revenue in April, continuing a painful contraction as consumers migrate to digital storefronts and away from physical game retailers. eBay, by contrast, is showing operational momentum. The company just forecast second-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations, buoyed by growing interest in collectibles, motor accessories, and a new live-streaming auction feature on its platform.
Analysts are deeply skeptical. Bloomberg Intelligence researchers Poonam Goyal and Sydney Goodman noted that while the companies do overlap in collectibles and resale markets, they see a low probability of the deal actually closing. Any credible offer, they argued, would require substantial shareholder dilution and introduce meaningful execution risk—a particular concern given GameStop's recent struggles and the complexity of integrating two very different business models. Whether Cohen can overcome that skepticism, or whether he will indeed pursue a proxy fight to force the issue before eBay shareholders, remains to be seen.
Notable Quotes
eBay should be worth—and will be worth—a lot more money. I'm thinking about turning eBay into something worth hundreds of billions of dollars.— Ryan Cohen, GameStop CEO
Any credible offer would require substantial dilution and introduce meaningful execution risk.— Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Poonam Goyal and Sydney Goodman
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would GameStop, a company that's been shrinking, try to buy something four times its size?
Because Cohen sees something in eBay that the market isn't pricing in—a platform with real momentum in collectibles and live commerce that he believes he can unlock. He's betting he can find $2 billion in annual savings and transform the whole thing.
But GameStop itself is bleeding revenue. Fourth-quarter sales dropped 14 percent. How does that inspire confidence?
It doesn't, which is why the analysts are skeptical. But Cohen's argument is that GameStop's problem isn't the e-commerce space itself—it's that GameStop got stuck selling physical games. eBay is already a thriving marketplace. He just needs to run it better.
What about the financing? Twenty billion from TD Bank is real money, but GameStop only has nine billion in cash.
Right. So they'd need to issue new stock to make up the difference, which dilutes existing shareholders. That's the execution risk everyone's worried about. You're asking shareholders to bet on Cohen's vision while their ownership gets watered down.
And if eBay's board says no?
Cohen's already said he'll take it to a proxy fight—go directly to eBay shareholders and ask them to vote out the board. It's a nuclear option, but he's signaling he's serious.
What does eBay actually think about this?
We don't know yet. The offer is unsolicited, so the board hasn't formally responded. But eBay just beat revenue expectations and has momentum. They may not feel pressured to sell.