{"id":1646251,"date":"2026-05-08T16:55:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T20:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/observer.com\/?p=1646251"},"modified":"2026-05-08T16:55:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T20:55:58","slug":"gamestop-ryan-cohen-ebay-takeover-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/observer.com\/2026\/05\/gamestop-ryan-cohen-ebay-takeover-bid\/","title":{"rendered":"Ryan Cohen’s ‘Sell on eBay to Buy eBay’ Stunt Puzzles Investors"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The GameStop CEO is commanding attention even as investors struggle to make sense of his plan. Courtesy GameStop<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Baseball cards, video games, an old iPhone and a painting of a dog are among the items listed for sale on the eBay profile of Ryan Cohen, the CEO of GameStop.<\/a> Earlier this week, Cohen made an unsolicited $56 billion offer<\/a> to acquire eBay. Now he appears to be selling personal collectibles on the very platform to fund his takeover. The approach is drawing attention. It is also leaving Wall Street and some of GameStop\u2019s investors struggling to understand exactly what he\u2019s doing.<\/p>\n

Cohen has not clearly explained how he would finance the proposed deal. During an interview with CNBC<\/a> after announcing the bid, he repeatedly sidestepped questions about funding, saying such details \u201care on our website\u201d while criticizing the network for calling for \u201cGameStop\u2019s demise.\u201d\u00a0The interview was later described as dizzying<\/a>,\u00a0bizarre<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0combative<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The confusion stems mainly from the scale of the proposal. GameStop has a market capitalization of nearly $11 billion, about $9 billion in cash, and a $20 billion financing letter from TD Bank. eBay is currently valued at roughly $47 billion. Cohen said he wants to merge eBay with GameStop and install himself as CEO. He argues the combined company could cut $2 billion in annual expenses.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Cohen has succeeded in dominating the conversation. “The more attention you’re going to get, the more eyeballs\u2014and people are going to be aware of, ‘Hey, maybe I should be investing in this guy’s business,” Steve Soltis, a lecturer at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, told Observer. “He’s a very savvy guy.”<\/p>\n

That dynamic fits Cohen\u2019s track record. He rose to prominence during the 2020 meme-stock boom after investing in GameStop, joined its board in 2021 and became CEO in 2023. He previously founded Chewy and sold it to PetSmart for $3.35 billion in 2017, and has taken activist positions in companies like Nordstrom and Bed Bath & Beyond.<\/p>\n

Soltis, who has worked in executive communications for companies like Coca-Cola and UPS, sees the current moment as deliberate. “You’re telling me he’s going to go on CNBC and really not understand the logistics and technicalities of the deal? I personally don’t buy it,” he said. “He understands meme stocks probably better than anyone, and how to generate a groundswell of support from people who may be dissenters.”<\/p>\n

Cohen has leaned into that playbook. Shortly after the interview, he posted that he would be “selling stuff on eBay to pay for eBay<\/a>,” directing his followers on X to his eBay account. eBay briefly suspended his account yesterday (March 7). But it’s active again today with 35 listings. A pair of\u00a0GameStop store signs<\/a>\u00a0has already drawn a bid of $21,100.<\/p>\n

“He knows this is going to travel on social media,” said Soltis. “I think he\u2019s just doing it to be outlandish and positioning himself to be even more of an iconoclast than he already is.”<\/p>\n

Investors are less amused. GameStop shares have fallen by 4 percent this week. Michael Burry, one of the company\u2019s most closely watched shareholders, said he exited his position and warned the deal could take years to stabilize. “Never confuse debt for creativity<\/a>,” Burry wrote in a Substack post on May 4.<\/p>\n

Cohen\u2019s eBay buyers, at least, appear satisfied. His account, created in 2019, carries a 100 percent positive feedback rating. Purchases come with free shipping and a copy of his proposal letter to eBay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen grabs attention with an unsolicited bid to acquire eBay and then selling personal collectibles on eBay to fund the deal. But serious investors question how the $56 billion deal will actually work out. <\/p>\n Read More<\/a>","protected":false},"author":177935281,"featured_media":1644866,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"post_tag":[423842180,423824074],"company":[423973300,423953134,113612,423816672,423809027,423885805,182481,423964345,423813622],"channel":[186,423806427],"location":[],"nyo_column":[],"person":[423973351,423964455,424013226],"nyo_post_hidden":[],"coauthor":[423972268],"class_list":{"0":"post-1646251","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"tag-activist-investors","8":"tag-mergers-and-acquisitions","9":"observer_company-bed-bath-beyond","10":"observer_company-chewy","11":"observer_company-cnbc","12":"observer_company-coca-cola","13":"observer_company-ebay","14":"observer_company-gamestop","15":"observer_company-nordstrom","16":"observer_company-substack","17":"observer_company-td-bank","18":"channel-business","19":"channel-finance","20":"nyo_person-ryan-cohen","21":"nyo_person-michael-burry","22":"nyo_person-steve-soltis"},"acf":{"homepage_position":"","homepage_title":"","homepage_excerpt":"","alternative_og_image":"","headline":{"seo_headline":""},"subheadline":{"optimized_seo_description":"","optimized_social_excerpt":""}},"apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/observer.com\/2026\/05\/gamestop-ryan-cohen-ebay-takeover-bid\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":[],"rendered":"","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/observer.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/IMG_3760.jpeg?quality=80","coauthors_byline":"By Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly","display_channel":"","thumbnail":"\"Image