eBay rejects GameStop's billion-dollar acquisition offer! Board: The proposal is neither credible nor attractive

GameStop wants to acquire eBay for $55 billion, but the deal was rejected—eBay says GameStop lacks a financing framework. Chairman Ryan Cohen has turned to aggressive expansion, sparking market discussion about Bitcoin positioning. Analysts question whether the proposal is feasible.

GameStop’s Surprise Bid Shocks the Market

U.S. game retailer GameStop has recently reportedly made an approximately $55 billion acquisition proposal to eBay via an e-commerce platform, but it was formally rejected by eBay’s board. According to reports from overseas media, eBay executives privately described the bid as “neither credible nor attractive,” believing that the overall transaction lacks a clear financing structure and practical execution plan.**

After the news broke, the market quickly shifted its focus to GameStop’s chairman, Ryan Cohen. Since he led GameStop’s transformation, the company has continued searching for new capital-market narratives, including directions such as AI, digital assets, and Bitcoin allocation.

Some investors had originally hoped that if GameStop could truly complete the acquisition of eBay, it might change the U.S. e-commerce and secondhand trading market landscape. However, most Wall Street analysts remain highly skeptical, arguing that the two companies’ size gap is too large and that there is not enough funding to support the deal.

• Related news: GameStop wants to spend $55 billion to acquire eBay! “Small snacks, big deals” sparks doubts on Wall Street

eBay Questions Financing Capability and Deal Logic

According to reports, eBay’s board’s main concerns center on whether GameStop has the financing ability to complete the transaction. Currently, although GameStop holds a large amount of cash, completing an acquisition on the scale of more than $50 billion would still require relying on large-scale debt, issuing new shares, or bringing in external capital.

eBay’s board believes that GameStop has not proposed a specific, credible financing framework, nor has it clearly explained the integration strategy and long-term business model after the acquisition. In addition, eBay itself still has stable cash flow and a mature global e-commerce network, and the board does not believe that selling the company aligns with shareholders’ interests at the present stage.

Market observers note that eBay’s wording in its response is quite rare—especially phrases like “neither credible nor attractive”—which shows the board’s extremely cool attitude toward the entire deal.

Bitcoin Positioning Becomes a Hot Topic Again

Because Ryan Cohen has previously discussed Bitcoin ($BTC) and asset allocation issues publicly multiple times, this acquisition news has once again triggered market debate about GameStop’s future Bitcoin strategy.

Some investors initially speculated that GameStop could emulate Strategy’s approach by increasing its Bitcoin holdings through corporate balance sheet management, then combining it with large-scale acquisitions and capital market operations to build a new market narrative.

In recent years, more and more companies have started viewing Bitcoin as a financial reserve asset, keeping the market focused on whether GameStop will officially expand its crypto asset allocation. However, as of now, the company has not announced any clear Bitcoin purchase plan.

Analysts believe that Ryan Cohen’s proposal to acquire eBay is more about showing the market that GameStop still has ambitions for aggressive expansion, rather than simply betting on the cryptocurrency market.

Ryan Cohen Continues to Challenge Traditional Corporate Culture

Ryan Cohen has long been known for his aggressive style. From his early efforts to transform Chewy to later taking over GameStop, he has continued challenging Wall Street and traditional corporate governance models.

After the 2021 meme stock frenzy, GameStop gradually became one of the symbols of retail investor culture and anti–Wall Street sentiment, and Ryan Cohen is also viewed by some investors as a representative figure of “retail capitalism.” With changes in the market environment, investors today are more focused on a company’s actual profitability and long-term growth strategy, rather than just market sentiment and meme narratives.

eBay’s direct rejection of the acquisition proposal also reflects that traditional corporate boards remain highly conservative about high-risk capital operations. The market will continue to watch whether Ryan Cohen will put forward new acquisition plans, or whether the focus will shift back to GameStop’s own transformation and asset allocation strategy.