The CEO of GameStop, Ryan Cohen, said he was selling vintage video games, baseball cards, GameStop merchandise and a $14,000 pair of tube socks to help fund the company’s proposed $55.5bn acquisition of eBay.
His platform of choice? eBay, of course.
Cohen posted a link to his eBay storefront on Tuesday night, saying: “I’m selling stuff on eBay to pay for eBay.”
Hours later, Cohen posted a screenshot with a notification that his account had been suspended. A person familiar with the matter said on Thursday that his account had been reinstated and bidding for the items was open.
As of Thursday afternoon, the items with the highest bids were a pair of GameStop store signs, going for nearly $15,000 with nearly 100 bids, and a pair of white Adidas crew socks currently going for just over $14,000.
Other items include a painting of Tylee, a toy poodle who inspired Cohen to found the online pet retailer Chewy, and GameStop merchandise including a hat, a mousepad and a mug. Bidding for the items ends on 13 May.
Cohen became CEO of GameStop in 2020, leading the company into its “meme stock” era after he sold Chewy for more than $3bn to PetSmart.
On Monday, Cohen announced that GameStop made an unsolicited bid to acquire eBay for $55.5bn and warned that dealmaking could become hostile if eBay’s board dismissed his efforts.
In a letter to eBay’s board, Cohen said that eBay “should be worth – and will be worth – a lot more money” under GameStop.
“I’m thinking about turning eBay into something worth hundreds of billions of dollars,” Cohen said, adding: “It could be a legit competitor to Amazon.”
GameStop currently has a 5% stake in eBay and said the company would be willing to pay $125 a share for an even cash and stock split.
It is unclear whether GameStop has the funds to carry out its proposed deal given the company’s current valuation. The company’s stock dropped 10% after Cohen made an appearance on CNBC where he awkwardly dodged questions about how it would make up $16bn in funds needed to close the deal.
“I don’t understand your question,” Cohen said during the interview. “We’re offering half cash, half stock, and we have the ability to issue stock to get the deal done. But the full details of the offer are on our website.”
Soon after, investor Michael Burry, best known for his depiction in The Big Short and who voiced support for GameStop becoming an “instant Berkshire”, said he dumped his shares of GameStop.
“Never confuse debt for creativity,” he said.
A spokesperson for eBay declined to comment. In an earlier statement, the company said that it had received GameStop’s offer and was working with financial and legal advisers to review the proposal.
