eBay board chair: GameStop’s May 3 proposal is “neither credible nor attractive”
The e-commerce service eBay announced on Tuesday that it is rejecting the GameStop retail chain’s unsolicited acquisition proposal following a review with its financial and legal advisors.
Paul S. Pressler, the chair of eBay’s board of directors, announced the decision in a letter addressed to GameStop CEO, Ryan Cohen. He called the proposal “neither credible nor attractive” due to eBay’s standalone prospects, the uncertainty regarding the financing proposal, the impact on eBay’s long-term growth and profitability, and more factors.
© GameStop
GameStop submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire 100% of eBay at US$125 per share in cash and common stock at 50% each with full shareholder election rights on May 3.
GameStop currently has a 5% economic stake in eBay through derivatives and beneficial ownership of common stock. The company’s acquisition proposal is a 46% premium to eBay’s unaffected closing price on February 4 (when the company began acquiring shares in eBay) and a 20% premium over the closing price of eBay’s stock on Friday. News outlet GameSpot reported that GameStop has a market cap of around $12 billion and eBay has a market cap of $46 billion.
According to GameStop, Cohen has led the company since January 2021. The company appointed Cohen as Executive Chairman of the board in June 2023. He assumed the position after the company terminated Matthew Furlong as CEO, hiring Mark Robinson under the title of General Manager to be the company’s principal executive officer. The company’s sales declined 10% in the first quarter of the fiscal year in 2023 and adopted aggressive cost-cutting to narrow its losses in the previous fiscal year but still lost US$300 million.
Since 2019, GameStop has closed over 800 stores worldwide.
French-Canadian entrepreneur Stephen Tetrault acquired Electronics Boutique Canada inc. from GameStop Global Holdings S.A.R.L. in May 2025 and rebranded the stores as EB Games Canada.
Source: PR Newswire via @Wario64
