{"id":3422,"date":"2026-06-28T07:33:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T07:33:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3422"},"modified":"2026-06-28T07:33:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T07:33:44","slug":"ryan-cohen-passes-on-gamestop-payday-to-keep-pushing-one-acquisition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3422","title":{"rendered":"Ryan Cohen passes on GameStop payday to keep pushing one acquisition"},"content":{"rendered":"

GameStop (GME<\/a>) tried to buy eBay once already, and the answer was no. That rejection would have ended most takeover attempts. Cohen is not backing down.<\/p>\n

Read more Britney Spears’ Mom Lynne Spears Praises Grandsons After Fashion Week Debut<\/a><\/p>\n

Instead, GameStop spent the following weeks building a bigger position and a stronger balance sheet<\/a>, the opposite of what a retreat looks like.<\/p>\n

In May, GameStop submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire all of eBay<\/a> [EBAY<\/a>] at $125 per share in cash and stock, according to a filing on GameStop’s investor relations site.<\/p>\n

The offer represented a 46% premium to eBay’s stock price before GameStop began buying shares, the filing states.<\/p>\n

GameStop had already built a 5% stake in eBay through stock and derivatives<\/a> by the time it went public with the bid.<\/p>\n

Cohen’s pitch centered on GameStop’s 1,600 retail stores, which he argued could serve as a national network for authenticating and fulfilling eBay orders, according to CNBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

eBay’s board rejected<\/a> the proposal nine days later, calling it “neither credible nor attractive” in a letter from chairman Paul Pressler.<\/p>\n

Michael M. Santiago \/ Getty Images<\/a><\/p>\n

The board cited uncertainty about how GameStop would finance a deal worth roughly $55 billion, as well as concerns about combining the two companies’ operations.<\/p>\n

Cohen struggled to clearly explain the financing plan in a televised interview<\/a> that followed, which did little to ease Wall Street<\/a>‘s doubts.<\/p>\n

eBay, for its part, said in its rejection letter that it had “sharpened its strategic focus” under existing management and saw no need for a buyer.<\/p>\n

Rather than walk away, Cohen has kept buying. GameStop’s economic stake in eBay has grown to 7.8%<\/a> through additional options trading, according to a securities filing.<\/p>\n

Cohen told Barron’s <\/a>he intends to own the stock for the long term, regardless of how the board feels about a deal.<\/p>\n

GameStop also gave Wall Street a reason to take the pursuit seriously. The company now projects adjusted EBITDA above $600 million<\/a> for the fiscal year ending January 2027, nearly double the $345.4 million it reported in fiscal 2025.<\/p>\n

Read more ‘Off Campus’ Creator Teases Major Season 2 Change After Surprise Cast Exit<\/a><\/p>\n

Shares rose almost 3% in after-hours<\/a> trading on Friday.<\/p>\n

Related: AMC makes bold call that sends its stock crashing<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Cohen also gave up a performance-based pay package tied to GameStop’s results, according to the same report, choosing instead to keep his focus on the eBay pursuit.<\/p>\n

For a CEO who already holds a large equity stake, the move reads less as sacrifice and more as a signal about where he thinks the real value sits.<\/p>\n

The math has not gotten easier. At the time of the rejection, eBay carried a market value near $48 billion, while GameStop’s was roughly $11 billion, according to CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A stronger earnings outlook helps GameStop’s credibility, but it does not close a $38 billion gap on its own.<\/p>\n

GameStop’s original financing plan<\/a> leaned on roughly $9.4 billion in cash and liquid assets, plus up to $20 billion in third-party financing.<\/p>\n

That structure left several analysts unconvinced the first time around, and nothing in the company’s recent guidance changes the size of the gap it still needs to close.<\/p>\n

eBay’s board has also pointed to its own turnaround as a reason to stay independent. eBay shares had already gained 24% on the year by the time of the rejection, giving the board a stronger argument for staying the course than a struggling company would have.<\/p>\n

More Retail:<\/strong><\/p>\n

What began as an unsolicited takeover bid has evolved into a crucial test of GameStop’s post-meme transformation.<\/p>\n

Wall Street is watching closely to see if the company’s recent overhaul represents deep, durable restructuring or merely cosmetic damage control.<\/p>\n

Stronger earnings guidance buys Ryan Cohen more time and credibility with investors, but it does not actually buy eBay.<\/p>\n

The next definitive test will be whether GameStop can return with a financing structure solid enough to convince its board to stop calling the deal unrealistic, or if this instead devolves into a multi-year stake-building campaign with no clear endpoint.<\/p>\n

Related: Bed Bath & Beyond bets $53 million on beating Zillow, Redfin<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Tom Sandoval Speaks Out Amid Restraining Order Issue With Ex Victoria<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 27, 2026 at 9:15 PM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GameStop (GME) tried to buy eBay once already, and the answer was no.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nRyan Cohen passes on GameStop payday to keep pushing one acquisition - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3422\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ryan Cohen passes on GameStop payday to keep pushing one acquisition - Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"GameStop (GME) tried to buy eBay once already, and the answer was no.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3422\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-28T07:33:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3422#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3422\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\"},\"headline\":\"Ryan Cohen passes on GameStop payday to keep pushing one acquisition\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-28T07:33:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3422\"},\"wordCount\":729,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3422#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8cf0d29a712ad5cf69b397ff81bd9b21.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3422#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3422\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=3422\",\"name\":\"Ryan Cohen passes on GameStop payday to keep pushing one acquisition - 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