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It doesn’t look like GameStop’s wild ride is stopping anytime soon, after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company is about to make an offer to acquire eBay. While an official offer hasn’t been submitted yet, WSJ said that GameStop could make a buyout offer for eBay “as soon as later this month.”
The WSJ noted that GameStop’s market value sat at around $11 billion, while eBay towered over it with a $45 billion market value, as of Friday’s market close. The report didn’t have details on the potential offer, but WSJ said that Cohen could also take the offer directly to eBay’s shareholders instead if eBay isn’t receptive.
It’s important to note that the company’s CEO, Ryan Cohen, could receive a $35 billion in stock if he meets certain criteria, including increasing GameStop’s market value to $100 billion. Acquiring eBay could also be a part of Cohen’s plans to evolve GameStop beyond its reputation as a video games and collectibles retailer.
However, the company has experienced plenty of ups and downs in recent history. In 2022, GameStop attempted to build a marketplace for non-fungible tokens that ultimately shuttered a couple of years later. More recently, GameStop announced its plans to pivot towards retro gaming at select locations. While the company is still throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks, it also closed down more than 400 retail locations across the US earlier this year.
