https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/gamestop-preparing-offer-for-ebay-1678e6de
---Full Article since it's behind paywall.---
GameStop GME is preparing to make an offer for eBay EBAY , according to people familiar with the matter, part of CEO Ryan Cohen’s audacious plan to turn the retailer into a $100-billion plus juggernaut.
GameStop, which has a market value of around $12 billion, has been quietly building a stake in eBay’s shares ahead of a potential offer, the people said. EBay is several times GameStop’s size, with a market value of around $46 billion.
GameStop could submit an offer for eBay as soon as later this month, the people said.
If eBay isn’t receptive, Cohen could decide to take the offer directly to eBay’s shareholders, one of the people added. Details of the potential offer for eBay couldn’t be learned.
Cohen has made clear he’s eyeing a major transaction. He told The Wall Street Journal in late January he was scoping out potential deal targets, especially in the consumer and retail sector, as part of a plan to scale the business far beyond videogames and collectibles.
GameStop adjusted Cohen’s compensation package at the beginning of the year to give him extra incentive to boost the company’s market value and profitability. He stands to make as much as $35 billion in stock if certain criteria are met, including if the market value hits $100 billion, the Journal previously reported.
He has been cheered on by GameStop investors including Michael Burry of “The Big Short,” whose bets against subprime mortgage bonds were chronicled in the Michael Lewis book. Burry has written in his Substack newsletter that GameStop should use its cash pile to make transformative acquisitions.
GameStop’s shares have risen around 30% so far this year, in part on momentum surrounding Cohen’s dealmaking plans.
EBay’s shares are up more than 50% over the past 12 months as its strategy to focus on core categories including collectibles and fashion pays off. In February, eBay announced a deal to acquire secondhand fashion marketplace Depop from Etsy for $1.2 billion.
GameStop had around $9 billion in cash on hand at the end of March, up from $4.8 billion a year earlier. Cohen would likely enlist his legions of online followers to rally behind a deal, too.
Cohen, the co-founder of online pet-products retailer Chewy, gained a cult following after he built a big GameStop stake and in late 2020 criticized the company for moving too slowly toward e-commerce. He joined GameStop’s board in January 2021, when the business had a market value of a little over $1 billion. He rose to become chairman later that year and vowed to turn the struggling retailer around.
Edit:
Acquisition attempt confirmed by RC.
https://x.com/ryancohen/status/2051097144673665401
They're either going to try to do it peacefully with an offer or they will use proxy power from the stake that they've already bought in the company and buy more to get more voting power and then take it to the shareholders (basically a hostile takeover)
I purchased and DRS’ed even more GME shares today. You knew I would 🗿🦍
Damnit RC!! It's TOO SOON!
You are foiling my plans. I was SURE silver would pop first (before GME). I had bet on it (not a big bet, but still).
I mean, I have enough already, but I wish you had told me about EBay a week ago.
I'm always the last to know.
I too had the same Hope's. But I did buy some calls a couple months ago,and rolled them to July yesterday.
Hopefully the price goes above $32 so those with Warrants can actually use them :o
It def will. GME is part of the plan to take down the Rothschilds and of course their puppets in wall street.
Bingo bango. It is absolutely part of the plan. Would be nice if more anons here were clued in on that.
If for some odd reason it doesnt, GameStop CAN and likely WILL extend the expiration of our warrants... But I doubt they would create them only to not have them redeemable in the year...
Strange. Ebay acquired TCGPlayer a bit ago, while GameStop started a partnership with PSA.
For those unfamiliar, ebay and tcgplayer are basically the go-to places for collectible trading cards here in America. PSA on the other hand, is the main player, the standard, in the collectible trading card GRADING scene.
Gamestop used to be a place where you could buy cards at retail, but in the past year they decided to start matching, or in some cases exceeding market price.
Retail vs market price is insane difference on some products. Targets around the country had gotten restocks of Ascended Heroes ETBs just yesterday. Retail for those are $49.99. Market price (ebay/tcgplayer/card shows) is $170. If gamestop gets them, you bet they'll list them at $180. They've recently been called Gamescalp recently because of their 'scalper' prices.
PSA on the other hand, now partnered with gamestop, had their own controversy recently because they've been buying their own graded cards, and got caught "buying" a card they graded at a 9 from someone, paying them the graded 9 cost, then regrading it to a 10 to try to sell it, keeping the profits. Imagine buying a PSA9 then selling it as a PSA10. PSA10 is considered Gem Mint, no imperfections at all, and is sometimes much higher in value than a 9.
The only other card marketplace that I know of other than tcgplayer and ebay, is cardmarket, but it's European only. There are other grading companies outside of PSA, but the collector standard has been PSA for so long that there's resistance in changing it.
I'm other words, this is a bid for gamestop to help control the entire collectible card market.
Just for a bit of side trivia, if you purchased $2,000 of gold, in the year 2000, and I purchased $2,000 of Pokémon base set booster boxes, sealed, and we both held until now.... My investment would be worth much more than yours. This paper is literally worth more than gold.
There was a Pikachu I bought for my sister from my McDonald's paycheck for her birthday one year. Probably spent like $20. She held onto it and kept it in good condition. We got it graded a few years back. She got a PSA9. Worth $2.5k now.
That's what gamestop is trying to buy into now. They're being ambitious, I'll give them that.
Remember GameStop's trade in anything day?
I think that was a hint.
Imagine being able to drop off your games, consoles, or cards/collectables at your local GameStop for them to list on eBay or list them on eBay yourself and receiving the sale price with reduced fees as eBay or GameStop credit.
I think they're about to corner the market on not only collectible cards but much more.
👀
Honestly it's not even close. Your $2,000 in gold might be worth $35k today, my $2k in Pokémon would be over $700k.
That's what Gamestop is trying to buy into now
That’s absolutely wild.
I’ve definitely seen a lot of people burned on “collectible” bets, too though.
Oh yeah definitely. Beanie Babies and Pogs both come to mind.
The only way to not get burned in a casino is to be the casino.
Pet food enthusiast buys chain game store and attempts to become the casino for trading cards, what a villain arc.
These rumors were around months ago. People have suggested over 100 different retailers. We shall see..........
This isn't speculation from some random account on Reddit, this is reporting from the WSJ from credible sources.
There's also supporting evidence like this job posting from 9 days ago - https://collectorsuniverse.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/collectors/job/Asset-Protection-Investigator--GME---eBay-_JR104411
I'm skeptical on the "credible sources". It just says "people familiar with the matter"
Let's see what happens.
Acquisition attempt confirmed by RC.
https://x.com/ryancohen/status/2051097144673665401
They're either going to try to do it peacefully with an offer or they will use proxy power from the stake that they've already bought in the company and buy more to get more voting power and then take it to the shareholders (basically a hostile takeover)
And if that doesn't work out, their 5% stake in the company will be a nice profit
https://collectorsuniverse.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/collectors/job/Asset-Protection-Investigator--GME---eBay-_JR104411
Job listing from over a week ago.
Do you know about 741 ? (the gme tin)
Yep.
I own roughly 5,000 shares at this point and have been in this since before the first squeeze.
Check out the closing price of Ebay on friday. What do you see? :)
Yet another Cohencidence.
Acquisition attempt confirmed by RC.
https://x.com/ryancohen/status/2051097144673665401
They're either going to try to do it peacefully with an offer or they will use proxy power from the stake that they've already bought in the company and buy more to get more voting power and then take it to the shareholders (basically a hostile takeover)