GameStop has proposed to acquire 100% of eBay for $125 per share, the company announced on Sunday. In a news release, GameStop said that it was submitting a non-binding proposal to buy the e-commerce platform in cash and stock. GameStop says eBay will benefit from 1,600 US locations, giving it a national network for authentication, intake, fulfillment, and live commerce.
In the fiscal year of 2025, GameStop notes that eBay spent $2.4 billion on Sales & Marketing, while only attracting one million net active buyers, with the figure rising from 134 million to 135 million. If it acquires eBay, it says it will deliver $2 billion of annualized cost reductions within 12 months of closing.
It will achieve this by cutting Sales & Marketing spend to $1.2 billion, because the spend is not adding many new users and everyone already knows about eBay. It will cut Product Development spending by $300 million because the spend is outpacing revenue growth. Finally, $500 million will be saved from General & Administrative by consolidating finance, HR, real estate, legal, IT, and professional services across the combined company.
In its coverage, Reuters notes that eBay is around four times bigger than GameStop and that such takeovers usually rely on substantial debt, stock issuance, or both.
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen has said that financial commitments for the acquisition are already being sought and include a commitment letter for $20 billion in debt from TD Securities, as well as possible backing from external investors such as Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds for the deal.
If the acquisition does go ahead, GameStop’s CEO says that it wants to get eBay into a position where it can compete with Amazon. If it does manage to pull that off, it will certainly be something.
10 Comments
Load the comments and join the conversation!
Read the comments, ask the editors questions, show respect and join the conversation.