GameStop offered to buy eBay for about $55.5 billion in a half-cash, half-stock deal, sending eBay shares higher as investors weighed the bid’s odds.
eBay shares climbed Monday after GameStop made an unsolicited, non-binding proposal to buy the e-commerce company for about $55.5 billion, a bold bid by a much smaller retailer that immediately raised questions about financing and execution.
The offer values eBay at $125 a share and would be split evenly between cash and GameStop common stock. GameStop said the price represents a premium to eBay’s Friday close, while eBay said its board would review the proposal.
Ryan Cohen, GameStop’s chief executive, said in a CNBC interview that he had not yet begun talks with eBay management and framed the bid as an opening move. “We are offering half cash, half stock, and we have the ability to issue stock in order to get the deal done,” Cohen said.
The market reaction suggested interest but not full confidence that a deal will be completed. CNBC reported eBay rose roughly 6% after the market opened to just above $110, still well below the proposed $125 offer price. The BBC reported earlier that eBay was up 7.5% in pre-market trading, while GameStop was down about 5%; CNBC later reported GameStop was off about 1% at $26.30.
The bid is striking because GameStop is far smaller than the company it wants to buy. CNBC put GameStop’s market value just below $12 billion and eBay’s at about $46 billion. The BBC similarly described eBay as worth about four times more than GameStop.
GameStop has a commitment letter from TD Securities or TD Bank for roughly $20 billion in debt financing, according to the reports, and has about $9.4 billion in cash. Still, the proposed deal size leaves a substantial funding gap, with Cohen pointing to the potential issuance of GameStop stock as part of the path forward.
Cohen has argued that eBay could produce materially higher earnings if costs were cut. In a letter to eBay, he said he planned to remove $2 billion in annual costs within a year of completing the deal, with much of the reduction aimed at sales and marketing. GameStop has also pitched its roughly 1,600 U.S. stores as a physical network that could support eBay operations such as authentication, intake, fulfillment and live commerce.
eBay has faced tougher competition from large retailers and newer online marketplaces while trying to refocus on categories such as collectibles, trading cards, used luxury goods and auto parts. The BBC reported that eBay’s user base has fallen to 136 million worldwide from 175 million in 2018.
GameStop, meanwhile, remains best known to many investors for its role in the 2021 meme-stock surge. Under Cohen, who became chief executive in 2023, the company has returned to profitability through cost cuts and store closures, though the BBC reported its sales fell even as net profit rose in 2025.
The proposal still faces multiple hurdles: eBay’s board, regulators and shareholders of both companies would need to approve a transaction. Cohen has said he is prepared to take the offer directly to eBay shareholders if the board rejects it, but for now the next step is eBay’s formal review of an approach that would reshape both companies if it advances.
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