Deals
GameStop Drops Most Since 2002 After Failing to Sell Itself
- Retailer’s shares fall 26% as lack of financing stymies sale
- Decline of physical games hits hard; search for CEO continues
An employee assists customers shopping for Microsoft Corp. Xbox 360 video games inside a GameStop Corp. store in Louisville, Kentucky.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
GameStop Corp. plummeted as much as 26 percent, the most in 16 years, after ending an effort to sell itself. It leaves the world’s largest independent video-game retailer with fewer options to recover in an industry that has moved to digital streaming.
The decision caps months of turmoil during which the company’s longtime CEO died and his replacement left after just three months on the job. GameStop started a strategic review in June. But with physical video games out of vogue in the digital age, there weren’t a lot of strategic merger partners left for the company.