Gamestop CEO Wants Ebay at Any Cost: Cohen forgoes $35 Billion
Gamestop is committed to its $56 billion plan to acquire the auction platform Ebay. CEO Ryan Cohen is willing to forgo a $35 billion compensation package and invest his own money to make the deal happen.
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Gamestop is sticking to its $56 billion plan to acquire the auction platform Ebay. For this, CEO Ryan Cohen is reportedly willing to forgo a compensation package worth $35 billion and open his private wallet.
In early May 2026, it became known that the video game retailer Gamestop is pursuing an acquisition of the auction platform Ebay, which is nearly five times larger in market capitalization. The potential deal would be valued at $56 billion.
Cohen's Plan: "Genius or Total Nonsense"
At the heart of this is CEO Ryan Cohen's plan to transform Gamestop into a $100 billion trading company. A plan that Cohen himself has described as "genius or total nonsense," but for which he seems willing to dig deep into his own pockets.
On one hand, Cohen is said to want to forgo a potential compensation package worth $35 billion, as reported by wallstreet-online.de. To receive this package, the Gamestop chief would need to decuple the market value of the struggling video game retailer – the very plan mentioned above. Additionally, profits would need to be significantly increased.
Cohen is Willing to Contribute $500 Million
Instead of pursuing this plan further, the company, according to its CEO's wishes, is now supposed to focus entirely on improving operational figures and the acquisition of Ebay. In the "All In" podcast, Cohen also stated that he is willing to contribute $500 million from his personal wealth.
While this would not even amount to one percent of the acquisition sum, it is intended to demonstrate Cohen's unwavering commitment to closing the deal. He described Ebay's management in the conversation as "overpaid insiders who have never taken a real financial risk."
Ebay Rejected the Acquisition Attempt
Ebay rejected Gamestop's acquisition attempt in mid-May as "neither credible nor attractive." In fact, it is not entirely clear how Gamestop plans to finance the purchase of Ebay. The company is valued at less than $10 billion on the stock market. An additional $20 billion is reportedly to be provided by TD Bank in the form of debt-based financing. Adding Cohen's half a billion, there remains a gap of over $25 billion.
For Cohen, this does not seem to pose a major problem. The Gamestop CEO dismissed corresponding concerns in the "All In" podcast. In his opinion, the deal could be financed from Ebay's balance sheet. Later this week (June 22 to 26), Gamestop is expected to present new documents explaining the benefits of a merged company.
