GameStop weighs withdrawing $56B eBay takeover bid in favor of partnership

GameStop may be rethinking the most audacious corporate takeover attempt in recent memory. The video game retailer is reportedly considering withdrawing its $56 billion unsolicited bid for eBay and proposing a partnership instead, a move that would represent a dramatic strategic pivot after months of aggressive posturing. The potential reversal comes roughly three months after GameStop first lobbed the offer at eBay’s board, which rejected it almost immediately. For a company with a market cap of around $11-12 billion trying to swallow one worth multiples of that, the math was always going to need some creative explanation. How we got here GameStop launched its takeover bid in early May 2026, offering approximately $125 per share in a cash-and-stock deal. That price represented roughly a 20% premium over eBay’s stock price at the time. On May 12, eBay’s board formally rejected the bid, pointing to what it diplomatically described as “substantial concerns” over credibility, financing, leverage, and execution risks. Rather than retreating, GameStop doubled down. Ryan Cohen, GameStop’s chairman and CEO, began systematically increasing the company’s stake in eBay. That position grew fr...