Retail

Would GameStop and eBay Retail M&A Deal Rival Amazon?

PUBLISHED  | UPDATED 17 minutes ago | 2 min read
Dimitra DeFotis

Dimitra DeFotis

Senior Editor

Shares of eBay (EBAY) rose more than 5% from Friday's close of $104.07 after GameStop (GME) unveiled an unsolicited $56 billion bid for the e-commerce giant.

eBay shares are up more than 60% from their 52-week low of $67.87. GameStop’s bid is nearly twice that, at $125 per share in cash and stock; it owns a roughly 5% stake in eBay.

According to news reports:

  • GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen, who would become CEO of the combined company, unveiled bid comments in prominent media outlets, saying he has not yet spoken with eBay management. He indicated he would pursue a proxy fight and wants to “build something much larger” that could cut costs and compete with Amazon (AMZN).
  • eBay has a market capitalization of $46 billion, more than three times that of GameStop, at roughly $12 billion. GameStop would need to raise $9 billion in cash by issuing an estimated 1 billion shares, giving the deal "a low probability of success," according to an analysis by Baird.
  • The strategic rationale for the deal is "not clear," says a Bernstein report, which notes that while the businesses have overlap in games, toys and collectibles, eBay is a much larger, more diversified business.

Check out what Joe Tigay with the Rational Equity Armor Fund has to say about the potential M&A deal in The Morning Trade: GME bid for EBAY Shakes the Markets 


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