ChainThink report: GameStop (GameStop) CEO Ryan Cohen is planning to make an acquisition offer for the e-commerce platform eBay, valued at approximately $45 billion, with the goal of transforming it into a retail giant with a market cap exceeding $100 billion—significantly surpassing GameStop’s current market cap of around $11 billion.

Insiders reveal that GameStop has quietly increased its stake in eBay and may submit a formal bid as early as later this month; should the eBay board reject the offer, Cohen could launch a direct tender offer to eBay shareholders.

According to market data, following the news, eBay's after-hours stock surged over 10% in U.S. markets, while GameStop shares rose by approximately 5%.

Cohen explicitly stated earlier this year that he is actively scouting for major M&A targets in the consumer and retail sectors to expand the company beyond video games and collectibles.

As of the end of March, GameStop held cash reserves of approximately $9 billion, a significant increase from $4.8 billion a year ago, providing strong financial backing for this potential acquisition.

eBay’s stock has risen over 50% in the past 12 months and recently acquired Depop, a secondhand fashion platform, for $1.2 billion in February.

GameStop investor and real-life inspiration behind the film *The Big Short*, Michael Burry, publicly urged the company to leverage its cash reserves for transformative acquisitions.

Since joining the board and ascending to Chairman in 2021, Cohen has amassed a loyal following by promising to reverse the company’s decline, and is expected to mobilize its online fanbase to generate momentum for this deal;

His compensation structure indicates that if he achieves milestones such as driving the company’s market cap to $100 billion, he could receive equity rewards worth up to $35 billion.