TD’s eBay Financing Assumes GameStop Wins Longshot Credit Rating

GameStop Corp.’s proposed $20 billion financing of its bid for eBay Inc. rests on the assumption that the combined company’s debt would be investment grade, a premise that people familiar with the matter and at least one ratings firm suggest is far from a sure thing.

The gaming retailer run by billionaire Ryan Cohen offered to buy eBay for about $56 billion in cash and stock, in a bold attempt to acquire a company roughly four times its size. In presenting its bid, GameStop also said it built a stake of about 5% in the e-commerce platform and secured a nonbinding “highly confident letter” from TD Bank to provide about $20 billion of debt financing for the deal.