"“I wasn't passionate about GameStop,” says Cohen. “I'm passionate about eBay. I believe in eBay's business.” Cohen took over as GameStop CEO in 2023 after joining the board in 2021, right around the time of GameStop's infamous “meme stock” frenzy."
"Cohen tells Needleman he never wanted to be the CEO of GameStop, but he has always wanted to become the CEO of eBay. His bid for eBay has not been fruitful thus far. The biggest reason being that he doesn't have the cash for it, offering $56 billion while only having $9.4 billion in assets."
"Instead he's pitching a half cash, half stock offer, summoning memories of GameStop's viral Wall Street surge. Though the honeymoon of the meme stock days have long since passed as well, with even its biggest cheerleaders bailing. He's also begun personally selling wares on the platform in something of a stunt, from GameStop memorabilia to pillaging the Game Informer vault."
"Cohen claims the listings are part of a sincere campaign to dredge up the cash, but like most eBay listings, none of them are worth the billions needed to bridge the gap. Another key complication is that eBay is doing fine, more or less, whereas GameStop is not."
Ryan Cohen says his motivation for pursuing eBay comes from personal passion rather than prior efforts tied to dubious listings or financial arguments. He took over GameStop in 2023 after joining the board in 2021, but he says he was never passionate about GameStop. GameStop has struggled as video games shifted to digital, closing many stores and selling off international operations. Cohen says he always wanted to lead eBay, but his bid has not progressed because he lacks cash, offering $56 billion with $9.4 billion in assets. He proposes a half-cash, half-stock offer and has begun selling items personally on eBay to raise funds, while eBay’s performance remains stronger than GameStop’s.
Read at Kotaku
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