GameStop Future Seen in Private Equity as Shorts Climb: Real M&A

As short sellers boost their bearish wagers against GameStop Corp. to the highest level in America, the world’s largest video-game retailer may find its best hope with a private equity buyer.

Almost 47 million, or 34 percent, of GameStop’s shares are currently shorted, the most of any company in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and Data Explorers. Speculators sold borrowed stock on the assumption prices will drop even as GameStop traded yesterday at the cheapest level relative to net assets of any U.S. specialty retailer and a 67 percent discount to its sales, the data show.