eBay rejects GameStop’s $56B offer: “Your proposal is neither credible nor attractive”

eBay’s board of directors today rejected GameStop’s $55.5 billion offer to buy the company.

“We have concluded that your proposal is neither credible nor attractive,” eBay Chairman Paul Pressler wrote in a letter to GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen. Pressler said the board and its independent advisors thoroughly reviewed GameStop’s unsolicited bid and found numerous problems.

“We have taken into account such factors as 1) eBay’s standalone prospects, 2) the uncertainty regarding your financing proposal, 3) the impact of your proposal on eBay’s long-term growth and profitability, 4) the leverage, operational risks, and leadership structure of a combined entity, 5) the resulting implications of these factors on valuation, and 6) GameStop’s governance and executive incentives,” Pressler said.

GameStop made the surprising offer last week. eBay’s rejection “could lead to a hostile bid” because Cohen has “said he was willing to take the offer ...