GameStop proposes $55 billion acquisition of eBay

GameStop has made one of the strangest and boldest retail moves in recent gaming-business memory: a proposal to acquire eBay. Insider Gaming reports that CEO Ryan Cohen confirmed a non-binding proposal for GameStop to buy the online marketplace for $125 per share in cash and stock, valuing the deal at around $55 billion. The plan would reportedly use a 50 percent cash and 50 percent GameStop stock structure, with financing and GameStopÔÇÖs cash and liquid investments helping support the bid. For gamers, the reason this matters is that GameStop is still one of the most recognizable retail names in physical games, used hardware and trade-ins, while eBay remains a massive marketplace for retro games, collectibles, hardware and second-hand gaming culture. A combination could reshape how used games, retro consoles and collectibles move online and through physical stores. GameStop says it could cut operating expenses and use its roughly 1,600 US stores as part of eBayÔÇÖs distribution network. This is only a proposal, not a done deal, but if it moved forward it would be a huge shift for both gaming retail and broader e-commerce.