The opening act of a $56 billion hostile takeover reads like a Silicon Valley drama: the would-be buyer got locked out of the very platform he wants to own. Ryan Cohen, the CEO of GameStop and the face of the meme-stock revolution, had his personal eBay account permanently suspended. The marketplace cited “putting the community at risk” as the reason.
Screenshot Sparks Frenzy
Cohen shared a screenshot of the ban notice on social media. His account, ryan_5050, was shut down just days after he went public with a $125-per-share offer for eBay, valuing the company at roughly $56 billion. To drum up publicity—and, he joked, to help fund the deal—he launched a bizarre campaign selling personal items, including socks that fetched bids in the thousands.
Cohen had already accumulated a 5% stake in eBay before making the unsolicited offer. The bid is a mix of 50% cash and 50% stock, with TD Bank committing $20 billion in debt financing. Yet analysts estimate a gap of roughly $16 billion remains. Cohen has hinted at issuing more GameStop shares to close the gap, but investors remain skeptical: eBay stock trades around $109, well below the offer price.
Market Doubts, Burry Weighs In
Legendary investor Michael Burry called the move “overtly hostile,” noting that the spread between the bid price and the current share price signals low market confidence. GameStop itself is worth only about $11 billion, making the acquisition a classic David-vs-Goliath play.
Cohen’s vision includes using GameStop’s 1,600 retail stores as physical hubs for eBay shipments and slashing $2 billion in annual costs. Whether such a turnaround is achievable remains an open question.
Board Meeting, Proxy Fight Looming
eBay’s board is expected to review the unsolicited offer this week. The suspension of Cohen’s personal account is widely interpreted as a defensive move. If the board refuses to engage, a proxy battle could follow—Cohen taking his case directly to shareholders. The saga has already blurred the line between a corporate takeover and a personal social-media war.