GameStop offers $56 billion for eBay, struggles to explain how it’ll pay for it

GameStop has made an unsolicited $55.5 billion offer to acquire eBay, proposing to leverage its ~1,600 US retail locations as authentication hubs, fulfillment nodes, and live-commerce broadcasting studios for eBay sellers. CEO Ryan Cohen argues eBay has underperformed and that combining the two companies would create synergies. However, the deal faces significant skepticism: eBay's market cap is more than four times GameStop's, and GameStop has not clearly explained how it will finance the acquisition beyond vague references to debt financing and a cash-and-stock mix. This comes as GameStop has closed over 1,000 US stores in the past two years amid falling revenue.