GameStop Doubles eBay Stake to 9.8% as Takeover Battle Heats Up

GameStop is accelerating its pursuit of eBay. According to a filing with the SEC, the video-game retailer has boosted its stake in the e-commerce giant from 5% — disclosed in May — to 9.8%, signaling that CEO Ryan Cohen is not backing down after the board’s rejection but instead cranking up the pressure.^{[Retail Gazette]}

Stake Doubled and Financing Structure

GameStop now holds a total of 43.4 million eBay shares. According to the regulatory filing, the company bought 3.5 million eBay shares on the open market between June 8 and June 15 for roughly £283 million (about $360 million). It then exercised options covering another 39 million shares, converting them into common stock, all funded from working capital.^{[Retail Gazette]}

On the financing side, GameStop’s bid is structured as a complex offer: $93 per share for eBay, valuing the company at roughly £42 billion, paid in equal parts cash and GameStop stock. Cohen has personally committed about £372 million of his own money. The financing plan also includes a non-binding loan commitment of roughly £14.9 billion from TD Securities, but that loan is contingent on the combined company securing an investment-grade credit rating.^{[Retail Gazette]}

Market Skepticism and Analyst Doubts

Despite Cohen’s push, the market and analysts remain broadly skeptical about the deal’s viability. GameStop’s market cap is roughly £7.4 billion, while eBay’s valuation is close to £37 billion — a massive size disparity.^{[Retail Gazette]} Analysts question whether the smaller video-game retailer can finance such a large transaction and successfully execute the integration.

eBay’s board rejected GameStop’s $93-per-share offer in May, calling it “neither credible nor attractive” and expressing concerns about the financing, strategic rationale, and risks of combining the two businesses.^{[Retail Gazette]}

Strategic Vision and eBay’s Standalone Performance

Cohen argues that merging GameStop with eBay would create a stronger competitor to Amazon (AMZN) and has pledged to cut eBay’s annual costs by £1.5 billion within 12 months of closing the deal.^{[Retail Gazette]}

But eBay has been performing well on its own. Since Jamie Lannone took over as CEO in 2020, eBay’s market cap has nearly tripled, driven largely by expansion into high-growth categories like collectibles. eBay declined to comment on GameStop’s increased stake and Cohen’s ongoing takeover efforts.^{[Retail Gazette]}

Amazon Stock Price

As of 11:30 AM ET on July 20, 2026, Amazon (AMZN) was trading at $251.01 in intraday trading, up 1.53% (+$3.78) from the prior close of $247.23. The stock opened at $248.16, with a session high of $251.33 and a low of $248.00.^{[Finnhub Real-Time Quote]}

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