eBay Rejects GameStop's $55.5 Billion Takeover Bid as "Neither Credible nor Attractive"

Drama

12 May 2026 17:22

TL;DR

eBay has formally rejected GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen's $55.5 billion takeover offer, describing it as "neither credible nor attractive," with the bid's $28 billion cash component resting partly on a non-binding bank expression of confidence contingent on GameStop achieving investment grade credit ratings.
Cohen, whose anti-establishment reputation traces back to the 2021 Reddit short squeeze that drove GameStop's stock up hundredfold, vowed to persist: "The more eBay fights me, the more I'm not going away. I'm a pain in the ass."

GameStop tried to buy eBay. eBay said no. GameStop said it would keep trying. And here we are, watching a video game retailer pursue a hostile takeover of one of the internet's oldest marketplaces, financed by a plan that made eBay's board reach for the word "credibility."

This is genuinely happening.

The Bid That Wasn't Quite a Bid

The offer was $55.5 billion, structured as half cash and half new GameStop shares. The problem is that of the $28 billion claimed in cash, $20 billion exists as a "non-binding expression of confidence" from TD Bank, conditional on GameStop achieving investment grade ratings from two major credit agencies.

Investment grade status for a meme stock company attempting one of the largest leveraged acquisitions in recent memory isn't a foregone conclusion. It's the kind of condition that turns a "$55.5 billion bid" into "we might be able to raise $35 billion if several things go right." eBay understood this. That's what "neither credible" means.

Why eBay Doesn't Need This

eBay's shares are up 50% over the past 12 months. The board may be overpaid, as Cohen has noted, but that's a corporate America standard rather than a GameStop-specific concern. Shareholders sitting on a 50% gain aren't generally desperate to swap their holdings for GameStop stock, a currency that has been famously volatile since 2021 and is, as even sympathetic observers admit, genuinely difficult to value.

Cohen's stated strategy for eBay, cutting the marketing budget in half and finding synergies between eBay's digital marketplace and GameStop's 1,600 physical stores, is not the kind of vision that convinces reluctant shareholders.

Where Ryan Cohen Goes From Here

Cohen told the FT: "The more eBay fights me, the more I'm not going away. I'm a pain in the ass." That statement implies a formal hostile bid is coming, where Cohen would go directly to eBay shareholders rather than the board.

More:Guerrilla Games Co-Founder Building "Immense Engine," a European AI-Native Alternative to Unreal Engine

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eBay Rejects GameStop's $55.5 Billion Takeover Bid as "Neither Credible nor Attractive"

Drama

12 May 2026 17:22

Tags: eBay Reuters

TL;DR

eBay has formally rejected GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen's $55.5 billion takeover offer, describing it as "neither credible nor attractive," with the bid's $28 billion cash component resting partly on a non-binding bank expression of confidence contingent on GameStop achieving investment grade credit ratings.
Cohen, whose anti-establishment reputation traces back to the 2021 Reddit short squeeze that drove GameStop's stock up hundredfold, vowed to persist: "The more eBay fights me, the more I'm not going away. I'm a pain in the ass."

GameStop tried to buy eBay. eBay said no. GameStop said it would keep trying. And here we are, watching a video game retailer pursue a hostile takeover of one of the internet's oldest marketplaces, financed by a plan that made eBay's board reach for the word "credibility."

This is genuinely happening.

The Bid That Wasn't Quite a Bid

The offer was $55.5 billion, structured as half cash and half new GameStop shares. The problem is that of the $28 billion claimed in cash, $20 billion exists as a "non-binding expression of confidence" from TD Bank, conditional on GameStop achieving investment grade ratings from two major credit agencies.

Investment grade status for a meme stock company attempting one of the largest leveraged acquisitions in recent memory isn't a foregone conclusion. It's the kind of condition that turns a "$55.5 billion bid" into "we might be able to raise $35 billion if several things go right." eBay understood this. That's what "neither credible" means.

Why eBay Doesn't Need This

eBay's shares are up 50% over the past 12 months. The board may be overpaid, as Cohen has noted, but that's a corporate America standard rather than a GameStop-specific concern. Shareholders sitting on a 50% gain aren't generally desperate to swap their holdings for GameStop stock, a currency that has been famously volatile since 2021 and is, as even sympathetic observers admit, genuinely difficult to value.

Cohen's stated strategy for eBay, cutting the marketing budget in half and finding synergies between eBay's digital marketplace and GameStop's 1,600 physical stores, is not the kind of vision that convinces reluctant shareholders.

Where Ryan Cohen Goes From Here

Cohen told the FT: "The more eBay fights me, the more I'm not going away. I'm a pain in the ass." That statement implies a formal hostile bid is coming, where Cohen would go directly to eBay shareholders rather than the board.

More:Guerrilla Games Co-Founder Building "Immense Engine," a European AI-Native Alternative to Unreal Engine

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