eBay has rejected GameStop's unsolicited takeover proposal, saying the bid is "neither credible nor attractive" after reviewing it with financial and legal advisers.
The decision is the sharpest response yet to GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen's attempt to buy the online marketplace, a move that would push the video game retailer far beyond its brick-and-mortar roots. GameStop's offer valued eBay at $125 per share in a cash-and-stock deal worth roughly $56 billion, but eBay's board said the proposal carried too much uncertainty around financing, leverage, operations and leadership.
In a letter published through PR Newswire, eBay board chair Paul S. Pressler said the company had reviewed the offer and decided not to pursue it.
"We have concluded that your proposal is neither credible nor attractive. We have taken into account such factors as 1) eBay's standalone prospects, 2) the uncertainty regarding your financing proposal, 3) the impact of your proposal on eBay's long-term growth and profitability, 4) the leverage, operational risks, and leadership structure of a combined entity, 5) the resulting implications of these factors on valuation, and 6) GameStop's governance and executive incentives."
Why eBay Turned Down GameStop
The rejection lands just over a week after GameStop confirmed its eBay acquisition proposal. Cohen's pitch centered on combining GameStop's retail footprint with eBay's marketplace, with the stated ambition of building a stronger rival to Amazon.
That idea has faced immediate skepticism because of the size gap between the two companies. CNBC reported that eBay's market value was just over $48 billion while GameStop's was roughly $10.3 billion, making the smaller retailer's attempt to buy the larger marketplace a difficult sell even before financing details were considered.
CNBC also reported that Cohen said GameStop had about $9 billion in cash on hand and a $20 billion financing commitment from TD Securities. The same report said the financing letter was not binding and assumed the combined company would maintain an investment-grade credit profile from at least two of the three major ratings agencies.
That condition is important because eBay's board specifically cited financing uncertainty and the leverage of a combined company as reasons for rejecting the deal. According to CNBC, Moody's Ratings had already described the proposed acquisition as "credit negative" for eBay because of the debt load implied by the structure.
GameStop's Bid Now Faces a Harder Path
The rejection does not automatically end the story. Cohen previously said he was prepared to take the offer directly to shareholders if eBay declined to engage, setting up the possibility of a hostile takeover attempt.
Even so, eBay's response gives shareholders a clear list of objections. The board said it remains confident in eBay's current management and strategy, pointing to the company's marketplace improvements, focus on seller experience and capital returns. It also highlighted eBay's scale, saying the company operates in more than 190 markets and enabled nearly $80 billion in gross merchandise volume in 2025.
For gaming readers, the unusual part of the story is not only the size of the proposed deal. GameStop has spent years trying to define its post-meme-stock identity after the 2021 trading frenzy made the retailer a symbol of online investor culture. A successful eBay acquisition would radically change GameStop's business, but the board's response shows how far Cohen still is from convincing eBay that the plan is financially realistic.
The takeover talk began before the formal offer became public, with earlier reporting that GameStop was preparing a bid for eBay. Now the process has moved from speculation to a public rejection, and any next step will need to answer the same question eBay put at the center of its letter: how GameStop would actually fund and operate a deal of this size.