It might be a fraction of eBay’s size in terms of market value, but that might not stop GameStop from making an offer.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the video game retailer is about to make an offer to buy eBay. That offer could be made as early as this month.
The report claims GameStop’s leadership will first approach eBay’s leadership to make the buyout offer. If eBay’s leadership isn’t receptive, GameStop might instead turn to the company’s shareholders to plead its case.
There is plenty of incentive for GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen to make this happen. He could reportedly receive $35 billion in stock if he hits certain criteria, including raising GameStop’s market value to $100 billion.
Acquiring eBay would be a significant step in that direction. Whereas GameStop’s market value currently sits at around $11 billion, eBay’s is around $45 billion. Acquiring the online marketplace would put the combined entity at around $56 billion in market value.
Still, it’s not a guarantee this can happen.
GameStop has had some ups and downs over the years. It’s considered the king of meme stocks, which has led to volatile stock prices since 2021.
Since then, the company has made various business decisions with scattered success rates. GameStop previously opened and operated an NFT marketplace before shutting it down. More recently, the company has a renewed focus on retro gaming at select locations and online.
Even so, GameStop continues to close stores. Earlier this year, the company closed 400 of its locations across the U.S.
Leave a Reply