GameStop, the American video game retail chain, has made a surprise unsolicited offer to acquire e-commerce platform eBay for approximately $55.5 billion — a deal that would see a company worth roughly $12 billion attempt to absorb one valued at nearly four times as much. eBay confirmed on Monday that it had received the offer, noting there had been no prior discussions or outreach from GameStop before the bid arrived. The proposal consists of half cash and half stock, with around $9 billion in cash, $4.2 billion in existing debt, and a commitment letter from TD Securities for up to $20 billion in additional debt financing.

Ryan Cohen, GameStop's chief executive and a prominent figure in the 2021 meme-stock frenzy that saw the retailer's shares surge more than 1,000 percent in two weeks, is driving the deal. Cohen, who owns roughly 9 percent of GameStop, argues he can replicate the cost-cutting strategy he applied at GameStop to transform eBay into a genuine rival to Amazon. He has pledged to cut $2 billion in annualised costs within a year of any deal closing, targeting eBay's sales and marketing division, which spent $2.4 billion in fiscal 2025 while adding only one million net active buyers. Cohen would serve as CEO of the combined company, forgoing any salary and being compensated solely based on its performance. He has said he is prepared to take the bid directly to shareholders if eBay's board rejects it.

Founded in 1995, eBay was among the pioneers of online commerce and once competed directly with Amazon. Its user base has since shrunk from 175 million in 2018 to around 136 million today, and the company has repositioned itself as a marketplace for collectibles, antiques, rare sneakers, and high-end fashion. That shift has recently paid off — eBay's shares were already up nearly 20 percent this year before the bid, following a strong earnings report. Cohen envisions using GameStop's approximately 1,600 US stores as a physical network for eBay, potentially allowing customers to verify and collect purchases in person.

Wall Street received the proposal with considerable scepticism. Morgan Stanley analysts noted the two companies have "fundamentally different" business models with limited revenue or cost synergies, and that an all-stock alternative would be a difficult sell. Bernstein analysts said they would be "surprised if anything became of" the deal, citing GameStop's smaller balance sheet. If structured as a leveraged buyout with a 20 percent premium, it would surpass the recently announced $55 billion Electronic Arts transaction as the largest leveraged buyout in history. Retail analyst Sucharita Kodali of Forrester told the BBC that the offer is "not a terribly good" one for eBay, as it would burden the platform with GameStop's debt.

Adding to the scepticism, "The Big Short" investor Michael Burry — who holds GameStop shares and has previously compared Cohen to Warren Buffett — called the deal's strategy "pedestrian" and warned it would lead to more debt and shareholder dilution, suggesting he may sell some or all of his stake. The NZZ has highlighted a significant financial incentive for Cohen himself: a compensation package unveiled in January that could award him stock worth up to $35 billion if GameStop's market value reaches $100 billion — a threshold that a transformative acquisition like eBay could help unlock. Despite the doubts, analysts noted that even a failed bid could draw interest from other potential acquirers. eBay shares rose around 5.5 percent on Monday, while GameStop shares fell by more than 4 percent.