GameStop Now Owns Nearly 10% of eBay After Rejected $56B Bid

GameStop has disclosed a 9.8% stake in eBay, roughly three months after its unsolicited $56 billion takeover bid was rejected. The move signals Ryan Cohen is not walking away.

What the filing shows

GameStop beneficially owns 43,390,383 shares of eBay common stock, with sole voting and dispositive power over the entire position, representing roughly 9.8% of eBay’s outstanding stock based on 444 million shares outstanding as of April 24, 2026.

Between June 8 and June 15, 2026, GameStop purchased 3,516,077 eBay shares for about $381.3 million including fees, and elected to physically settle 39,046,658 eBay shares underlying Put/Call Pairs, with settlement on July 17, 2026.

From derivatives to direct ownership

The 9.8% figure marks a sharp jump from early May, when Cohen told eBay’s board chairman GameStop had accumulated a 5% economic stake through derivatives and beneficial ownership. In other words, the synthetic exposure has now converted into real shares with real votes.

The stake still sits just below the 10% threshold that would trigger additional U.S. regulatory disclosure requirements.

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Cohen is not backing off

“I’m not going to call my shots, but we’re coming for eBay one way or another,” Cohen said on Bloomberg this week, a transcript of which he included in his regulatory filings on Friday.

GameStop shareholders approved an increase in the company’s authorised share count last month, giving it greater flexibility to finance a deal through equity, and Cohen has committed $500 million of his own money to the proposed transaction. He also voluntarily gave up a performance-based pay package worth up to $35 billion last month to focus leadership on operations and executing the eBay acquisition.

The pitch, and eBay’s response

Cohen’s pitch for the merger is that he would cut costs and lay off staff to make eBay more profitable, as he did with GameStop, and that the combined operations would compete with Amazon in the reseller market for physical goods, with Cohen becoming CEO of the new eBay GameStop entity.

A representative for eBay previously called the deal “neither credible nor attractive.”

Options market and stocks to watch

GME: Watch for flow around the equity financing angle. The eBay stake is worth roughly $5 billion, about half of GameStop’s total market cap, so any move on eBay meaningfully swings GameStop’s book value.

EBAY: Watch for a defensive response, buyback commentary, or a poison-pill style reaction now that a 9.8% holder is openly hostile.

AMZN: Watch as the sector backdrop. Cohen has argued that combining the two companies under his leadership would create a stronger competitor to Amazon.

Check other news for updates as the situation develops.

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