BY Richard Summerfield
Online marketplace eBay has rejected the surprise $55.5bn takeover offer from video game retailer GameStop, calling the proposed deal “unsolicited” and “neither credible nor attractive”.
The deal would have seen GameStop, which has built up a 5 percent stake in eBay, acquire 100 percent of the company at $125 a share. The price would have represented a 46 percent premium to eBay’s unaffected closing price on 4 February 2026, the day GameStop started accumulating its position in eBay.
GameStop intended to use about $9.4bn in “cash on hand” and $20bn in potential debt financing from TD Securities to complete the deal. According to a statement announcing the offer, adding GameStop’s market capitalisation of just over $10bn, the total remains about $16bn short of what it offered in its unsolicited bid.
In a press release issued on Tuesday, eBay rejected the offer. “The Board, with the support of its independent advisors, has thoroughly reviewed your proposal and has determined to reject it,” said Paul S. Pressler, chairman of the board of directors of eBay.
“We have concluded that your proposal is neither credible nor attractive,” he continued. “We have taken into account such factors as 1) eBay’s standalone prospects, 2) the uncertainty regarding your financing proposal, 3) the impact of your proposal on eBay’s long-term growth and profitability, 4) the leverage, operational risks, and leadership structure of a combined entity, 5) the resulting implications of these factors on valuation, and 6) GameStop’s governance and executive incentives.”
Mr Pressler described eBay as a robust and resilient business that has generated solid results in recent years. He noted that the company has refined its strategic direction, improved execution, strengthened its marketplace and seller experience, and consistently returned capital to shareholders. He also expressed the board’s confidence that, with its distinct global platform and clear strategy, the current management team is well positioned to sustain growth, operate with discipline and create long-term shareholder value.
The proposed deal was notable given GameStop’s significantly smaller value, uncertainty around the company’s financing proposal as well as its borrowing and the operational risks of a combined group. GameStop rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic as a so-called ‘meme-stock’, which saw gen Z and millennial investors piling into stocks, including GameStop, in a frenzy that pushed a number of hedge funds close to bankruptcy.
GameStop had a market valuation of roughly $12bn before its bid, almost a quarter of eBay’s $46bn valuation. Since the height of the meme-stock craze, which saw GameStop shares up from $3.25 in April 2020 to $347.50 in late January 2021 – a rise of 10,692 percent – the company has subsequently closed hundreds of stores, including 590 in 2025. It currently has around 1600 remaining sites.
GameStop’s chief executive, Ryan Cohen, has previously said that the company was prepared to launch a hostile bid and take the offer directly to eBay’s shareholders if the board was not receptive to his proposal.
News: EBay rejects GameStop's $56 billion bid as ‘neither credible nor attractive’