eBay has officially rejected GameStop’s $55.5 billion takeover proposal, describing the bid as “unsolicited” and saying it was “neither credible nor attractive”.
In a letter addressed to GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen, eBay’s Board of Directors stated that the company remains “a strong, resilient business”. The board also said it had concerns about the potential impact of the deal on eBay’s long term growth and profitability.
According to eBay, the decision was influenced by “operational risks, the leadership structure of a combined entity”, as well as concerns related to GameStop’s corporate governance and uncertainty surrounding the financing of the transaction.
Analysts widely expected the proposal to be rejected, as GameStop is significantly smaller than eBay. Despite facing stronger competition from Amazon, Etsy, and Temu in recent years, eBay insists that its turnaround strategy is delivering positive results.
eBay’s net profit for 2025 reached $418.4 million, even though overall sales declined. For comparison, the company reported $131.3 million in profit the previous year.
GameStop, which became famous as one of the biggest “meme stocks”, is currently valued at roughly a quarter of eBay’s market worth. The retailer operates around 1,600 stores worldwide, mostly across the United States.
When announcing the offer, GameStop said TD Securities had provided a commitment letter for approximately $20 billion in debt financing to support the acquisition. Ryan Cohen also claimed that eBay could become far more successful under his leadership and potentially compete with Amazon.
However, industry analysts reacted skeptically to the proposal. Forrester retail analyst Sucharita Kodali said the offer “did not sound like a terribly good offer”, warning that it could burden eBay with GameStop’s debt.
GameStop still has the option to take its proposal directly to eBay shareholders if it decides to continue pursuing the deal. If the acquisition had gone through, it could have significantly impacted the market for physical games, retro consoles, collector’s editions, and second hand gaming hardware sales.
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