GameStop made an unsolicited offer to buy eBay for $56B, or $125 per share, in cash and stock, a roughly 20% premium to its closing price on Friday and a 46% premium to eBay’s unaffected closing price on February 4, 2026 before the rumors of the offer had circulated, driving the price up. The offer is backed by a $20B debt commitment from TD Bank to help make a deal possible.
The first question I had when I read the news was… What's with all the unsolicited offers lately to buy companies from people who can't actually afford to do so? First Rezolve AI tried to buy Commerce. Now GameStop is trying to buy eBay. What's next? Shopifreaks tries to buy Shopify for $200B? Hold my coconut water while I get my checkbook…
eBay confirmed that it received the unsolicited proposal and would review with its board and financial advisers, but noted that there were no discussions with or outreach from GameStop before receiving the offer. eBay added that its due diligence would take into consideration “the ability of GameStop to deliver a binding, actionable proposal.” Meaning, they don't think they can afford it either.
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen said:
“eBay should be worth—and will be worth—a lot more money. I’m thinking about turning eBay into something worth hundreds of billions of dollars… There is nobody who is more qualified, based on my experience, to run the eBay business. I’m going to be as focused on eBay and as personally involved as I have been in the GameStop turnaround for the next few years. It could be a legit competitor to Amazon.”
Cohen told the Wall Street Journal that putting his videogame retailer and eBay under one roof could create opportunities to cut costs and improve earnings, given that the two companies have some overlap already, including a focus on selling collectibles and trading cards. Though to be fair, eBay has been doing that since 1995, while GameStop just entered the business in 2024.
In GameStop's press release, Cohen points to the fact that $2.4B was spent on Sales & Marketing at eBay in fiscal 2025, but only one million net active buyers were added to the platform, a net increase of less than 0.75%, while promising to deliver $2B in annualized cost reductions within twelve months of closing. He also noted how GameStop's 1,600 U.S. retail locations would give eBay a national network for authentication, intake, fulfillment, and live commerce — which is an excellent point. Everyone else is going omnichannel. Why not eBay? This was my plan for RadioShack 20 years ago, but no one was listening to me back then.
I've enjoyed the public criticism of the plan, particularly from Brittain Ladd who wrote on LinkedIn that “eBay should do what any sane board would do when a wannabe shows up waving a term sheet he can't actually afford and a story that doesn't add up: politely thank him for his interest…. and ignore him completely.”
However, I'm less skeptical than Ladd about this deal. eBay has been in desperate need of a shakeup for two decades, and although they've recently gotten back on track with new ideas surrounding AI and livestream, I think that some fresh blood in the C-Suite could do the company well. However, is Ryan Cohen the right man for the job? Sure, why not! Let's give him a shot.