GameStop Corp. CEO Ryan Cohen stunned markets Sunday with an unsolicited $55.5 billion bid for eBay Inc., pitching a cash-and-stock deal at $125 per share that values the online marketplace at more than four times his own company’s size. Barely 24 hours later, Cohen faced CNBC’s Squawk Box hosts in a 16-minute exchange that veered into outright tension. Andrew Ross Sorkin pressed hard on the math. GameStop’s market cap sits at $11.9 billion. Cash and equivalents total $9.4 billion. A ‘highly confident’ letter from TD Securities promises up to $20 billion in financing. Still, the numbers don’t bridge the gap.
“It’s half cash, half stock,” Cohen repeated, multiple times. Sorkin wouldn’t let up. He calculated a shortfall of $16 billion to $20 billion, even assuming full TD backing—which isn’t locked in. Becky Quick jumped in: “That’s a pretty straightforward question. Where’s the rest of the money coming from?” Cohen deflected. “It’s on our website.” Laughter rippled through the studio at one point. Cohen shot back at Sorkin: “Didn’t you call for GameStop’s demise multiple times? Like, it should have been bankrupt by now.” The host had. Business Insider captured the cringe, dubbing it one of the most awkward CEO interviews in recent memory.
But. Cohen’s vision burns bright. He told The Wall Street Journal GameStop quietly built a 5% stake in eBay. The bid carries a 20% premium to Friday’s close. Merge the two, and Cohen sees a powerhouse. “eBay should be worth—and will be worth—a lot more money,” he said. “I’m thinking about turning eBay into something worth hundreds of billions of dollars.” A letter to eBay’s board promises $2 billion in annual cost savings within a year. GameStop’s 1,600 U.S. stores could feed eBay’s logistics. The combo might challenge Amazon.com Inc. head-on.
Markets reacted swiftly. eBay shares soared 20% Monday on the open, reflecting takeover buzz. GameStop’s? Down 3% to 5% amid skepticism. No Wall Street analyst covers GME anymore. Cohen, meme-stock hero from 2021, took the CEO reins in 2023 after ousting predecessor Matt Furlong. His January pay package ties $35 billion in upside to hitting $100 billion market cap. This deal fits that script perfectly. Or disastrously.
eBay stays silent. No comment to Reuters or others. The firm plans 800 layoffs—6% of staff—to sharpen focus, per Business Insider. CEO Jamie Iannone, in place since 2020, pushes turnaround amid Amazon pressure. Pokémon cards now boom on both platforms. Overlap there. Synergies, maybe.
Cohen hasn’t called eBay management. “We are just starting,” he told CNBC. Public company boards carry ‘perverse incentives,’ he argued. Plan B: proxy fight. Take it straight to shareholders. GameStop’s debt stands at $4.16 billion as of January. Cash funds part of the offer. Stock issuance covers the rest, Cohen insists. But dilution looms large for GME holders. Analysts flag execution risks, per Yahoo Finance.
X erupted. Posts called the interview ‘bizarre.’ ‘Smug.’ One clip of Sorkin and Cohen’s back-and-forth racked up thousands of likes. Memes flowed from WallStreetBets holdovers. Cohen’s Chewy roots shine through—activist roots, pet supplies turned powerhouse. GameStop? Brick-and-mortar video games fading. Cash hoard from meme rallies funds this swing.
Sorkin laid out the bind clearly. GameStop pledges $27.75 billion cash. Has $9.4 billion liquid. TD’s $20 billion tentative. Short $6 billion on cash alone, before stock math. Cohen: “Yeah, we’ll see what happens.” Studio laughs again. Quick presses. He repeats the website line. Interview wraps. No clarity.
Reuters notes Cohen eyes eBay as Amazon rival. Reuters reports the hostile threat. The New York Times frames it as Cohen’s latest bold bet, post-meme glory. Bloomberg echoes the $56 billion figure, citing WSJ. Bloomberg.
Full CNBC interview now online. Watch it. Cohen fields Amazon rivalry, synergies, his CEO role post-deal. Hosts circle back to funding. Deflections persist. GameStop directs queries to its site. eBay shares still pop. GME dips.
This isn’t Cohen’s first rodeo. Bed Bath & Beyond activism. Chewy sale. Now, dwarfing GameStop to swallow eBay. Funding fog clears? Or thickens into poison pill territory? Shareholders watch. eBay board deliberates. Markets grind on.
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