GameStop made an unsolicited takeover offer for eBay valued at approximately $55.5 billion on May 12, 2026, proposing to pay $125 per share. The proposed transaction was to be funded half in cash and half in newly issued GameStop shares.

The cash portion included a non-binding $20 billion financing commitment from TD Bank, contingent on GameStop obtaining an investment-grade credit rating. Of the $28 billion in advertised cash, $20 billion depended on that non-binding expression of confidence from TD Bank.

eBay's board rejected the proposal. "We have concluded that your proposal is neither credible nor attractive," eBay Chairman Paul Pressler wrote. Pressler added that eBay's board, under its current management team, is confident the company is well-positioned to continue to drive sustainable growth.

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen acquired a 5 percent stake in eBay and said he might present the takeover offer directly to eBay shareholders by calling a special meeting. Cohen argued that combining the two companies would allow him to cut costs and find synergies to create a much larger enterprise, and said he could improve eBay's profitability by replicating GameStop's cost-cutting measures and using GameStop's 600 U.S. stores as a physical network to enhance eBay's competitiveness.

In a letter to eBay's board, Cohen said he would serve as CEO of the combined company and would not take a salary, cash bonuses, or a golden parachute. In an interview with Business Insider, he said: "I did not want to be the CEO of GameStop. I want to be the CEO of eBay." He also wrote, "I'm selling stuff on eBay to pay for eBay."

Investor Michael Burry sold his stake in GameStop after the offer was announced, saying the takeover would saddle GameStop with debt and dilute its share value. Moody's said the proposed transaction would be credit negative for eBay.

On May 12, 2026, eBay's shares fell 1.3 percent to $106.68 per share, while GameStop's shares were down nearly 2 percent in early trading. GameStop began May 2026 with a market capitalization of $11 billion, while eBay's market value was roughly four times that of GameStop. eBay's stock returned 201 percent since Jamie Iannone became CEO six years ago, and its shares climbed 56 percent over the past 12 months.

eBay earns fees by connecting buyers and sellers online without holding inventory, while GameStop, a video games retailer with approximately 1,600 stores, buys goods wholesale and resells them through physical locations. In 2021, a short squeeze by Reddit traders drove up GameStop's share price by approximately 100 times, an episode that made Cohen popular among retail investors.