GameStop is preparing offer for eBay, WSJ reports

May 1 (Reuters) - GameStop is preparing ‌an offer for eBay ​as ​CEO Ryan Cohen pursues plans to boost the struggling videogame retailer's market value more than tenfold, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Shares of eBay, which ‌has a market capitalization of about $46 billion, soared about 14% in extended trading. ⁠GameStop gained 4%. The company has a market value of nearly $12 billion.

GameStop has been quietly building a stake in ‌eBay's shares ahead of a potential ‌offer, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

If eBay is not receptive, Cohen could decide to take the offer directly to the e-commerce company's shareholders, the Journal ​said.

Details of the potential offer, which could be submitted as soon as later this month, could not be learned, the report added.

Cohen, the largest investor in GameStop, and the companies ⁠did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

A potential deal would upend the usual M&A playbook. It's rare for a ​public company to target one nearly four times its size; such deals typically rely on heavy debt, stock issuance, or both - banking on future ​earnings of the combined company to justify the cost.

The ‌billionaire investor, who joined the GameStop board in January 2021 and became the CEO in September 2023, has steered the company through a period ⁠that saw its return to profitability through aggressive cost cutting.

For years, GameStop has grappled with disruptions from a pivot to online shopping and digital purchases, forcing it to shutter many of its brick-and-mortar stores and ⁠focus on a web-based reinvention.

It reported a 14% drop in revenue to $1.10 billion for the holiday quarter.

GameStop in ​January unveiled a compensation package worth roughly $35 billion for Cohen, hinging on a turnaround that requires him to lift the company's market value to $100 billion and hit $10 billion in cumulative performance EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation ‌and amortization).

The company's shares have slumped from the all-time highs hit in 2021, when it became a retail investor darling during the pandemic-era meme-stock ‌rally.

EBay, whose shares have risen over 19% this year, forecast second-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on ⁠Wednesday, betting on listings of collectibles ‌and motor accessories as well ​as live-streamed auctions on its e-commerce platform.

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City, additional reporting by Echo Wang in New York; Editing by Tasim Zahid and ‌Sriraj Kalluvila)

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