GameStop Ready to Place a Bid to Buy eBay
The gaming retail outlet is fighting to survive
"ColonelFancy" Mike Lind
5/2/20262 min read
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen has been accruing stake for purchase of online retailer
Both eBay and GameStop saw rise in market share value
Bid could be made by the end of May
As reported by the Wall Street Journal (paywall article), there appears to be a move from gaming retail fixture GameStop to potentially purchase eBay. GameStop's CEO Ryan Cohen, an e-commerce entrepreneur (and founder of pet supply chain Chewy), has been quietly amassing assets in order to place a bid. On Friday, both eBay and GameStop ended the market with a rise in their shares, 14% and 4% respectively. According to the reports, if there is pushback from management, Cohen could go directly to the e-commerce shareholders of eBay.
No representatives from eBay or gameStop made any public comments as of this writing. While ebay has thrived in adapting adequately to the ever shifting landscape of business and retail, GameStop has never quite regained any real footing in the evolving market, as their brick and mortar stores have seen a number of closures throughout the United States. During the pandemic, the popular "meme stock" was driven by small investors on the trading app Robinhood (and various others) to challenge hedge funds.
WHAT IS GAMESTOP'S GOAL?
CEO Ryan Cohen wants to expand the gaming distributor market value to $100 billion by potentially combining the two companies. GameStop's current net value is $11.90 billion dollars. Despite being one of the few major retailers with a primary focus on video games, the digital landscape has run circles around the physical market. In recent years, the chain has attempted to broaden its appeal by reselling retro video game hardware and software, dubbing some of these locations "retro stations".
Their stock evaluation has remained relatively flat through 2025, and it does not seem like Cohen wishes to broaden GameStop's m.o. to necessarily draw people back into the stores, but rather inflating the value of its property.
SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal