GameStop makes $56 billion takeover bid for eBay
GameStop proposed on Sunday to buy eBay Inc for about $56 billion in a cash-and-stock deal, with CEO Ryan Cohen saying he was prepared to take the bid directly to shareholders should eBay’s board be unreceptive.
GameStop – once a stock market minnow that shot to fame during a meme-stock frenzy five years ago – is offering to pay $125 a share in a 50-50 mix of cash and stock, Cohen said in a letter to eBay’s board. Based on eBay’s Friday close, the bid represents a premium of about 20%.
EBay has a market capitalisation nearly four times larger than GameStop, making the buyout bid an ambitious attempt.
