GameStop chief executive Ryan Cohen is reportedly reconsidering his attempt to acquire eBay, despite the marketplace not being for sale and GameStop lacking the funds required to complete a takeover. Bloomberg reports that Cohen is considering withdrawing from the proposed $56 billion bid.
The development follows Cohen’s decision in June to abandon prospects for a potential $35 billion bonus so he could concentrate on the eBay plan. The strategy has attracted considerable attention because eBay has already rejected the proposal, while the financial path to a completed deal remains unclear.
Cohen is a wealthy businessman who co-founded Chewy and received a substantial share of the company’s $3.35 billion sale to PetSmart in 2017. In 2020, he invested $76 million in GameStop before joining its board and later becoming chief executive during the company’s meme-stock surge and subsequent fallout.
Under Cohen’s leadership, GameStop has closed hundreds of stores and invested in NFTs and blockchain projects. The retailer has also shifted further towards toys and collectibles, including Pokémon products. Cohen has said he is not passionate about GameStop, even as he has pursued the proposed eBay transaction.
A takeover with a sizeable funding gap
When Cohen announced the plan in May 2026, GameStop’s market value was estimated at approximately $11 billion under an optimistic assessment. Its share price later fell to its lowest level since the 2024 meme-stock crash, reducing the company’s market capitalisation to about $8.6 billion.
An investor had reportedly promised $20 billion in financing. However, the remaining funds needed to reach the $56 billion purchase price were not clearly accounted for. A difficult interview with CNBC appeared to indicate that Cohen intended to bridge the shortfall through an approach that critics viewed as unrealistic.
People familiar with the matter now say Cohen is weighing whether to abandon the offer. That would add another turn to a proposal eBay rejected forcefully roughly three months earlier.
From acquisition bid to possible partnership
By mid-July, Cohen had acquired a 9.8 per cent stake in eBay. At the time, he said: “I’m not going to call my shots, but we’re coming for eBay one way or another.”
About three weeks later, the proposal appeared to have shifted from an outright purchase to a possible partnership or joint venture. Under that idea, eBay could make use of GameStop’s 1,600 physical stores. In return, Cohen was reportedly seeking representation on eBay’s board.
The proposed arrangement would be a notable change for eBay, whose online-only structure has been central to its business model. The idea of a physical eBay retail presence has also been used as a joke in popular culture, including the 2005 film The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
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The bonus plan that could have changed the equation
There is an unusual twist to the financing discussion. Had Cohen achieved the proposed $35 billion bonus, he would potentially have had enough personal capital to fund an eBay takeover. That bonus, however, depended on increasing GameStop’s value tenfold.
Instead, Cohen presented the bonus as a distraction from the eBay objective. With GameStop’s market value later reported at $8.6 billion and the acquisition target unwilling to sell, the plan now appears considerably less certain than when it was first announced.
The episode highlights the difference between expressing interest in a major company and assembling the financing, shareholder support and target-company agreement required to complete a transaction.
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