eBay tells GameStop to keep the carpet: $56bn bid “neither credible nor attractive”

Ryan Cohen offered $125 a share, partly to be funded by a $20bn TD Securities commitment letter and, briefly, by selling old store signs on eBay itself. The eBay board, which had to ban and then unban him during the process, says no.

eBay has formally rejected GameStop’s $56bn takeover bid, telling the video-game retailer’s CEO Ryan Cohen on Tuesday that his proposal is “neither credible nor attractive.”

Paul Pressler, the chairman of eBay’s board, set out the rejection in a letter that was unusually direct by the standards of US M&A correspondence. “

The Board, with the support of its independent advisors, has thoroughly reviewed your proposal and has determined to reject it,” Pressler wrote.

The board cited uncertainty around GameStop’s acquisition financing and the leverage and operational risks of combining the two businesses.

Cohen’s offer, unveiled on 4 May, was a cash-and-stock proposal at ...