GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen Buys eBay for $50 Billion But Can He Afford it?
GameStop is one of the largest American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailers in the world, worth over $12 billion and generating millions of dollars in revenue every year. Recently, GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen made an interesting and incredibly high bid to purchase the multinational e-commerce company eBay.
This is a very interesting move by the gaming retailer, just for the simple fact that Cohen bid $56 billion for the auction website, and he has also listed several GameStop-related items on the platform to help, he says, pay for the buyout. Here’s all you need to know about GameStop’s acquisition of eBay, and the details Cohen reveals during his interview with TBPN.
GameStop CEO TBPN Full Interview
Ryan Cohen Full Interview with TBPN, courtesy of TBPN’s official YouTube channel
After news of GameStop’s $56 billion bid for eBay was officially announced on May 3, GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen did an interview with TBPN discussing his attempted acquisition of eBay and the interesting fact that the billionaire has listed several GameStop-related items on the platform to help pay for the buyout. Most of the interview discusses Cohen’s bid to acquire eBay for $125/share through a half-cash, half-stock deal, totaling $56 billion.
According to Cohen, he believes combining eBay with GameStop could unlock massive value, as he plans to cut billions in costs, operate with an owner mindset, and use GameStop’s physical store footprint to authenticate collectibles and drive growth for the company. He sees eBay as a durable but under-optimized platform that can be rebuilt through live commerce, creator partnerships, and a faster, more focused operating model.
During the interview, Cohen notes how he’s always admired eBay’s resilience as a live e-commerce company that has seen its fair share of losses. He states that eBay “should’ve been wiped out, but it hasn’t been,” and that’s why he loves the business and “wants to own eBay forever.” His expensive bid for eBay has also raised skepticism about whether he would be able to afford such a buyout, but it seems Cohen has just the solution.
Ryan Cohen is Selling Stuff on eBay to buy it
On Cohen’s official X account, he announced his master plan to help pay for the bid: selling items on eBay himself. According to Cohen’s eBay page, he’s listed about 25 items, each of which includes a hand-signed copy of the letter he wrote to eBay’s management proposing his deal and talking about how he will massively cut costs to help make eBay a “legit competitor to Amazon.” Other items include GameStop store signs (current highest bid is $10,800), a Halo 3 flag ($910 high bid currently), and a carpet from a GameStop store ($750 right now).
Cohen’s $56 Billion Bid
Back in January, Cohen announced his plan to buy another company that would help him transform the business, which led to his announcement to acquire eBay, stating, “It’s ultimately either going to be genius or totally, totally foolish.” Some key players in the industry indeed believe it is a foolish plan, such as Michael Blurry, a longtime GameStop investor who recently said he dumped all of his shares after learning that Cohen’s deal for eBay would include lots of debt.
However, on Friday, May 1, company shares jumped after Cohen’s announcement and plan to acquire eBay. If Cohen were to successfully acquire eBay with his bid, he would be the CEO of the combined companies of both GameStop and eBay, which would come with some major benefits, effectively expanding GameStop’s business model and revenue. It’s not yet certain how Cohen’s acquisition of eBay would affect the company, but he’s definitely displayed a lot of ambition, and it’ll be interesting to see how his plan would be executed and what would happen.
