GameStop Makes $56 Billion Bid for eBay, Four Times Its Size

GameStop Corp. is trying to buy eBay Inc. for about $56 billion in cash and stock, a bold attempt by Ryan Cohen to take over a storied e-commerce name several times larger.

The gaming retail chain has offered $125 per share in cash and stock for the online marketplace, or about a 20% premium to its Friday close. GameStop, which built a roughly 5% stake in eBay, has secured an initial, nonbinding “highly confident letter” from TD Bank to provide about $20 billion of debt financing for the deal. In a memo to investors, Cohen’s company pledged to find some $2 billion of annual savings within 12 months of closing.