eBay Rejects GameStop's $56 Billion Takeover Bid
eBay's board rejected GameStop's $56 billion unsolicited offer, citing financing and governance concerns and leaving open potential hostile action by GameStop.
Fortune'Neither credible or attractive': eBay slaps down GameStop's $56 billion takeover bid | Fortune
Los Angeles TimesEBay rejects GameStop's $56-billion takeover offer
New York MagazineRyan Cohen’s Dream of an eBay-GameStop Marriage Gets Derailed
Al JazeeraEBay rejects GameStop’s $56bn bid as ‘neither credible nor attractive’
Overview
eBay's board rejected GameStop's unsolicited $56 billion takeover offer, calling the proposal "neither credible nor attractive," Paul Pressler wrote.
GameStop offered $125 per share in a cash-and-stock deal and released a TD Securities letter saying it was highly confident it would raise up to $20 billion to fund the proposal.
eBay cited uncertainty over financing, operational risks, leverage, governance concerns and the proposal's impact on long-term growth and profitability, according to Pressler's letter.
GameStop's market capitalization was about $10 billion versus eBay's about $48 billion, and Moody's said the proposed acquisition would be "credit negative" because of increased leverage.
Ryan Cohen said he was prepared to take the offer directly to eBay, a step that eBay and analysts warned could lead to a hostile bid and leaves next actions uncertain.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the story as a pragmatic rebuff: they foreground eBay’s characterization of the offer as "unsolicited" and "neither credible nor attractive," emphasize financing "uncertainty" and GameStop’s status as a "meme stock," and give limited direct GameStop perspective, privileging eBay’s rationale over the bidder’s case.