GameStop just submitted a $55.5 billion non-binding offer to acquire eBay. The struggling video game retailer proposes buying 100% of eBay at $125 per share, split equally between cash and stock. This represents a 20% premium over eBay's Friday closing price and a 46% jump from February 4, when GameStop began accumulating eBay shares. The company now owns approximately 5% of eBay's outstanding stock.
CEO Ryan Cohen is leading this bold move, signaling GameStop's pivot away from physical game retail toward a broader e-commerce play. The proposal arrives as GameStop continues wrestling with declining console game sales and store closures. Acquiring eBay would give GameStop an established marketplace with massive scale, though the $55.5 billion price tag raises immediate questions about financing and feasibility for a company that's struggled operationally in recent years.
eBay hasn't publicly responded. Wall Street will scrutinize whether this represents genuine strategic vision or a desperate cash grab by shareholders hoping to reverse GameStop's fortunes. The non-binding status leaves room for negotiation, but the sheer ambition here signals Cohen's willingness to swing for transformative deals rather than accept GameStop's slow retail decline.