GameStop will pursue eBay takeover despite initial rejection

GameStop will continue to pursue its unsolicited eBay takeover, weeks after the e-commerce company’s board dismissed the initial $56 billion cash and stock proposal from the retail gaming company as not attractive and borderline insulting.

The video game retailer confirmed that it remained dedicated to completing the deal and said “additional materials regarding the proposed transaction are forthcoming,” according to Reuters.

The company had promised to release a detailed presentation covering the strategic rationale and operational plan for combining the two companies earlier in the week, but the document had not been published by Friday’s close.

GameStop’s first eBay bid

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen’s first pitch in May involved an offering of $125 per share and an interest in running the new entity post-merger. He described the merger as a path to building a solid competitor to Amazon.

The eBay board, led by Chairman Paul Pressler, rejected the proposal on May 12 calling it “unappealing” and questioning GameStop’s financial capacity to support the bid, as reported by Crypropolitan.

At the time of the bid, GameStop’s market cap was approximately $10.3 billion.

GameStop posts stronger earnings

In addition to confirming an unending interest in the eBay pursuit, GameStop has predicted an adjusted EBITDA hitting more than $600 million for fiscal 2026, up from $345.4 million in 2025. This led to a 2% increase in share prices in after-hours trading on Friday.

The earnings projection may be aimed at bolstering the game retailer’s credibility as a buyer. A standalone GameStop generating nearly double last year’s EBITDA strengthens the argument that the company can service acquisition debt.

GameStop has still not filed a formal tender offer after the rejection, and the promised presentation, when or if it does arrive, will need to address the financing shortfall and integration plans in concrete terms to further move the needle on investor sentiment.

Debt concerns amid GameStop’s financial solidity

Moody’s Ratings also dropped a breakdown of the proposed acquisition shortly after the initial offer was announced, warning that the merger could alter eBay’s finances.

The credit ratings agency explained that eBay ended 2025 with approximately $7.2 billion in adjusted debt, along with a gross leverage ratio of about 2.3x. Moody’s explained that a huge-money merger financed through additional borrowing could possibly increase the company’s leverage levels and affect its credit metrics and financial flexibility negatively.

CEO Cohen has previously argued that the deal would generate about $2 billion in annual synergies within a year of closing, with 60% from sales and marketing cuts, 25% from administrative savings, and 15% from product development. The credit agency agreed that these figures would translate to about 3.25x in deleveraging potential but expressed caution since there was no assumption of revenue losses or additional offsetting costs.

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