EBay rejects GameStop’s $56-billion takeover offer
California-based online marketplace EBay said Tuesday its board of directors rejected GameStop’s unsolicited $56 billion buyout offer.
The proposal was “neither credible nor attractive,” EBay’s board said in a statement. The San Jose company said it rejected the offer after considering various factors, including its potential impact on growth and profitability.
“With its differentiated global marketplace and clear strategy, EBay’s Board of Directors is confident that the Company, under the leadership of its current management team, is well positioned to continue to generate sustainable growth, execute with discipline and deliver long-term value to our shareholders,” said the board’s letter to GameStop Chief Executive Officer Ryan Cohen.
The rejection sets back the bold e-commerce ambitions of video game retailer GameStop, which wanted to take on bigger rivals such as Amazon. Cohen told media outlets that he plans to expand EBay, noting that the company, like GameStop, also focuses on selling collectibles such as trading cards.
Analysts expressed skepticism about the offer, including how GameStop would pay for the buyout. As of Tuesday, GameStop, headquartered in Texas, had a market cap of $10 billion. That’s well below EBay’s market capitalization of $48 billion.
GameStop did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this month, GameStop announced its offer to acquire EBay for $125.00 per share in cash and stock. The proposal represented a 46% premium to EBay’s closing price on Feb. 4, according to a company press release. GameStop has also started buying EBay stock and owns a 5% stake in the company.
A letter from investment bank TD Securities to GameStop said it was “highly confident” the company would raise up to $20 billion to finance the deal.
Questions still swirled around whether GameStop could afford to buy eBay and compete with Amazon.
In an interview with CNBC, Cohen said the company was offering “half cash” and “half stock” when asked for more details on how GameStop would finance the tender offer.
“We have the option to issue shares in order to complete the transaction, but full details of the offer are available on our website,” he said in the interview.
Cohen told the Wall Street Journal that the company plans to take the offer directly to shareholders if EBay is not open to the proposal.
GameStop is also struggling with the rise of online shopping. The company closed about 470 stores nationwide in January, according to an unofficial blog tracking GameStop store closures. The company’s revenue for fiscal 2025 was $3.63 billion, down about 5% from fiscal 2024. As GameStop cut costs, its net income rose to $418.4 million.
eBay has also tried to cut costs while adapting to changes in the way people shop. The company announced plans to acquire fashion marketplace Depop from Etsy for $1.2 billion in cash to reach younger consumers. In February, eBay announced it would lay off 6% of its workforce, or about 800 jobs.
On Tuesday, eBay’s stock price rose 2 percent to around $110. GameStop’s stock fell more than 3% to around $22 per share.
