GameStop makes $55B bid for eBay, but Ryan Cohen can't explain where the money comes from
Key Points
- GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen launches $55 billion hostile bid for eBay at $125 per share, a 46% premium, but cannot account for $16 billion of the financing on national television.
- GameStop's funding plan totals $49 billion from $9 billion cash, $20 billion stock issuance, and a TD Bank commitment, leaving a $6 billion shortfall Cohen deflects when pressed.
- GameStop stock falls on the announcement while eBay's board weighs whether Cohen's unexplained financing gap signals the bid is not genuine or binding.
Summary
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen launched a $55 billion hostile bid for eBay on Sunday, offering $125 per share—a 46% premium to eBay's closing price on February 4, 2026, when GameStop began accumulating a 5% economic stake in the company through derivatives and common stock.
The deal is structured as 50% cash and 50% GameStop stock. But when Cohen appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box to defend the offer, he could not explain how the company would finance the full amount.
The math breaks down like this: GameStop has $9 billion in cash on hand. Issuing stock worth roughly $20 billion gets the company to $29 billion. TD Bank issued a highly confident letter committing another $20 billion, bringing the total to $49 billion. That leaves a $16 billion gap, which Cohen was unable to account for during the interview.
When pressed by Andrew Ross Sorkin on where the remaining money would come from, Cohen repeatedly deflected, saying the details were on GameStop's website and that "we have the ability to issue stock in order to get the deal done." He never explained the financing shortfall or outlined a plan to close it.
The inability to articulate a path to full funding undermines the credibility of the offer itself. eBay's board chairman Paul Pressler—who will evaluate whether the bid is genuine—has now seen Cohen fail to answer a straightforward financial question on national television. In M&A, a $16 billion gap is not a detail to be worked out later; it is evidence that the offer may not be binding or real.
GameStop's stock fell on the news rather than rally, suggesting the market views the bid as incomplete. eBay, by contrast, has been executing well under CEO Jamie Inamdar, a 19-year veteran of the company who has driven meaningful operational improvements since taking the helm in 2020. The contrast between eBay's proven management and Cohen's fumbled pitch only sharpens the question: why should shareholders accept a speculative offer from someone who cannot articulate his own financing strategy?
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