Full article from Bloomberg GameStop Corp., led by Chief Executive Officer Ryan Cohen, is considering withdrawing its $56 billion bid for eBay Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. Cohen is considering proposing a partnership or joint venture that would enable eBay to leverage GameStop’s roughly 1,600 US retail locations, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. That could allow both to increase market share in high-margin categories such as trading cards and collectibles, the people said. GameStop, as one of eBay’s largest shareholders, would seek representation on eBay’s board as part of any partnership, they added. Since its offer in May, GameStop’s stock has fallen 28% while eBay’s has climbed 7.6%. The $125-a-share offer was comprised of 50% cash and 50% in GameStop common stock. EBay’s shares closed Friday at $111.98, giving it a market value of $49.8 billion. Including debt, it’s valued at almost $54 billion. GameStop hasn’t made a final decision and Cohen could still weigh other options, the people said. Representatives for GameStop and eBay couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. The takeover bid was a bold move by Cohen after GameStop built a 5% stake in the far-larger ecommerce company. GameStop continued building that stake and, as of July 15, owned 9.75% of eBay, making it the company’s No. 2 shareholder, second only to Vanguard Group Inc. funds, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Read More: GameStop CEO Is ‘Coming for EBay One Way or Another’ While Grapevine, Texas-based GameStop has $8.4 billion in cash that could be deployed in a deal, its market value has sunk to $8.6 billion. The proposal followed some dramatic changes at GameStop, a chain of video game stores that shrank its brick-and-mortar footprint after gamers increasingly bought software online. In 2021, GameStop became the center of a retail-investor frenzy. Michael Burry, the Scion Asset Management head who rose to prominence after a winning wager against mortgages ahead of the 2008 financial crisis, helped fuel GameStop’s rally by taking a bullish stance on the firm around 2019. After the offer for eBay, Burry said he sold off his entire position, citing concerns about the debt GameStop could take on to fund the deal. While eBay has struggled to adapt to changing consumer preferences, shoppers still spend about $80 billion annually on its platform. About 136 million globally made purchases on the platform in the 12-month period ending March 31.

Me wondering if @ryancohen submits a TO Sunday night. $GME $EBAY

🚨This week, I introduced a package of housing legislation to end the GSE conservatorship and help fix America's housing supply crisis. ✅The Sustainable Homeownership Act creates a statutory path out of conservatorship for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. ✅The Working Families Home Construction Act allows Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase residential construction loans at a low interest rate, helping builders access gap financing needed to produce more middle-class housing. ✅The Home Affordability Through Mortgage Simplification Act simplifies the TRID process, reduces unnecessary closing delays, lowers compliance uncertainty, and helps make the mortgage process less costly and frustrating for homebuyers. Read more ⬇️ fitzgerald.house.gov/media/p…

$AAPL are we approaching stock split territory?

Ryan Cohen interview on Charles Payne: Ryan Cohen went into extensively explaining of how the proposed $GME / $EBAY deal can work: GameStop has $9B cash and says it has a highly committed $20B financing letter from TD. The offer is $125/share, split 50% cash and 50% equity. His argument is that eBay shareholders get immediate liquidity while still owning a large piece of the combined company, instead of only taking stock. Cohen frames the deal as EPS-accretive, not destructive dilution. The key point is that eBay is an asset-light marketplace doing $11B in revenue but carrying over $5.6B in operating expenses, including $2.5B in sales and marketing. Cohen believes those costs can be cut aggressively, making eBay far more profitable inside a combined GameStop/eBay structure. In simple terms: 1. GameStop brings cash + financing. 2. eBay brings earnings + marketplace scale. Cohen believes that operational efficiency turns the combined company into a much higher-earning business for both shareholder bases. Both $GME and $EBAY.