EBay has rebuffed GameStop’s audacious $56 billion takeover bid, putting GameStop’s prized bitcoin position back under the microscope for crypto watchers.
What happened
- eBay’s board called GameStop’s half-cash, half-stock offer “neither credible nor attractive,” citing financing doubts and saying the company is better off with current management, Reuters reported.
- The bid—priced at $125 per GameStop share—has long faced skepticism: eBay’s shares have traded well below that level since the offer surfaced, signaling investors doubt the deal can close.
- GameStop now faces three options: walk away, sweeten the bid, or take the fight direct to shareholders.
Why bitcoin matters
- GameStop holds roughly $368 million of bitcoin exposure via a covered-call options strategy. That stake is roughly 4,709 BTC.
- In March filings, GameStop moved nearly all those BTC to institutional brokerage Coinbase Prime, converting the holding from directly held bitcoin to a receivable on its books—an important detail for potential financing and liquidity calculations.
- While selling the bitcoin position wouldn’t fund the full acquisition, it’s one of the few discretionary assets GameStop can point to if it needs to shore up cash or convince investors the bid is backed by tangible value.
The financing squeeze
- The offer depended on about $9.4 billion of cash and liquid investments plus up to $20 billion in debt financing from TD Bank.
- That TD Bank financing is conditional on the combined company maintaining an investment-grade rating—an area of vulnerability. Moody’s has already warned the deal would be credit negative for eBay, complicating the funding case.
- Raising the bid or moving to a hostile approach would likely make the financing even harder.
Market and investor reaction
- Market skepticism showed up in share moves: eBay slid about 1% to $107 before the bell; GameStop fell about 4%.
- The bid also stirred dissent within GameStop’s investor base. Notably, Michael Burry—famous for The Big Short—sold his stake after the offer and warned the move could saddle GameStop with debt and dilute shareholders.
Why crypto observers should care
- GameStop’s unique treasury exposure and its shift to Coinbase Prime make the company an interesting case for how public companies manage crypto assets amid M&A talk.
- Any decision to unwind the BTC position would be closely watched by markets and the crypto community, both for its signaling effect and for the modest liquidity implications of offloading roughly $368 million in bitcoin.
Bottom line: eBay’s rejection leaves GameStop with a high-stakes choice and keeps its bitcoin balance sheet exposure squarely in view—an unfolding story that bridges traditional M&A dynamics and corporate crypto strategy.
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