eBay shares rose before the opening bell after Ryan Cohen’s GameStop announced a bid to acquire the company for about $56 billion, seeing it as a way to compete with online retail giant Amazon.
eBay shares rose before the opening bell on Monday Ryan Cohen GameStop is seeking to acquire the company for approximately $56 billion, seeing it as a way to compete with online retail giant Amazon.
The national toy retailer said its roughly 1,600 U.S. stores could become delivery and shipping sites. One suggestion includes live sales broadcasts from GameStop locations featuring eBay products.
“EBay has the second-largest franchise, and there’s a huge opportunity to do something much bigger than that,” Cohen said in an interview with CNBC on Monday.
GameStop’s offer is $125 per share in cash and stock. The equity value of the proposed deal is $55 billion on paper.
EBay confirmed the huge offer on Monday and said it had not had any conversations with GameStop or received any communication from the company before receiving the offer.
eBay said the company’s board of directors, along with financial and legal advisors, will review the offer and determine what course of action to take.
GameStop said it has begun accumulating shares eBay It starts in February and currently holds a 5% stake.
The company is looking to cut costs on eBay, saying the online seller spent $2.4 billion on sales and marketing in fiscal 2025 while adding just 1 million active buyers. GameStop says it will achieve $2 billion in annual cost reductions within a year of the proposed deal closing.
Cohen, who owns about 9% of GameStop, will serve as CEO of the combined company. He will only be compensated based on the performance of the combined company.
Cohen became CEO of GameStop in 2023. At the time, the position had become a revolving door as the company tried to stay afloat as streaming turned the gaming industry upside down. GameStop has become one of the most popular games Meme stock To create a frenzy among retail traders on Wall Street. The company’s shares took off in 2021 after a group of deep-pocketed investors helped boost its shares 1,000% in two weeks.
GameStop shares have fallen since then, but are still up more than 30% this year.
eBay shares jumped more than 7% in premarket trading, while GameStop stock fell nearly 3%.