GameStop’s $55.5 Billion eBay Bid Puts Its Bitcoin Treasury in the Crosshairs

GameStop offered $125 per share for eBay in a deal that could require selling its $368 million bitcoin position, testing how corporate crypto treasuries behave under real M&A pressure.

GameStop submitted a non-binding offer on Sunday to acquire eBay for $55.5 billion, or $125 per share in a mix of cash and stock. The offer represents a 27% premium to eBay’s 30-day volume-weighted average price and a 36% premium to its 90-day average.

The company plans to fund the bid with $9.4 billion in cash and liquid investments on its balance sheet, plus up to $20 billion in debt financing supported by a commitment letter from TD Bank.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

That $9.4 billion figure includes GameStop’s $368 million bitcoin stash. The company recently moved 4,709 BTC to Coinbase Prime as part of a covered-call options strategy designed to generate income while maintaining price exposure. After the transfer, GameStop reclassified its bitcoin as “receivables.”

CEO Ryan Cohen told CNBC the deal is “way more compelling than bitcoin,” leaving open the possibility that the crypto holdings could be sold. GameStop did not respond to requests for comment on its plans for the bitcoin position.

eBay shares rose more than 10% in after-hours trading on the news. GameStop said it now holds a 5% economic interest in eBay through derivatives and direct stock ownership.

If completed, the acquisition would turn GameStop from a video game retailer into a broader e-commerce player, and it would mark one of the largest M&A transactions involving a company with bitcoin on its balance sheet. The deal also contrasts with the pure-accumulation model pioneered by Strategy’s Michael Saylor, who has used capital markets to steadily expand the company’s bitcoin position rather than deploy it for acquisitions.