Now I know what you are thinking: Gamestop is still a thing? How on Earth is it still going, and more importantly, how on Earth does it have enough cash to buy something as big as eBay?
Over in the UK the last high street video game store, GAME, has shut down all its stores and now only operates as concession stands in the likes of Sports Direct and House of Fraser. The overwhelming majority of players now buy digital, with an estimated 5% of players buying physical copies.
GameStop, a separate entity in the US, started 2026 by shutting hundreds of stores and pivoting to collectables, and at the same time investing in cryptocurrency. With all these changes they reported $418.4 million profit at the start of the year and currently has a value of $11.9bn. That’s a lot of Funko Pops.
GameStop is now offering to buy eBay in total for $125.00 per share in cash and stock, which is almost a third more than what it is currently worth.
GameStop plan is to use the physical stores as locations for a “national network for authentication, intake, fulfillment, and live commerce,” effectively turning eBay from online only into a physical presence, which frankly seems very odd.
As you might expect, they also want to slash costs, $1.2 billion from Sales & Marketing, $300 million from Product Development, and $500 million from General & Administrative. Or to put it another way, a hella lot of jobs will be cut.
GameStop’s chief executive Ryan Cohen will take over eBay but will “receive no salary, no cash bonuses, and no golden parachute” and “be compensated solely based on the performance of the combined company.”
For eBay shareholders it’s the perfect deal as they will be more than compensated, and history has shown that shareholders don’t give a monkey’s about how many jobs will be lost.
Source: GameStop
It’s interesting to see Gamestop making moves like this! It definitely keeps the conversation going about their evolution in the market. Looking forward to seeing how this unfolds!