Co-Founder, Chewy
"It's NOT A Denial..." GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen CONFIRMS Update On eBay Hostile Takeover
Watch the full episode here: • "Brink Of DISASTER!" Andrew Ross Sorkin On...
In a major business bombshell, GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen confirms to Piers Morgan that he is seriously considering a hostile takeover of eBay.
The prospect of an eBay takeover has gathered momentum in recent months. As rumours have intensified, investors and analysts began debating whether a deal was financially viable, setting the stage for one of the most ambitious corporate battles in recent years.
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About Ryan Cohen
Ryan Cohen, CEO of GameStop, has been publicly pursuing an unsolicited $56 billion bid to acquire eBay, which eBay rejected as "neither credible nor attractive." In multiple interviews, Cohen stated that he is committed to the acquisition "one way or another" and said he is working with bankers and advisors. He argued that the media has failed to explain why the deal makes sense, citing his track record with Chewy and GameStop, his plan to invest $500 million of his own money, and his identification of high-margin growth opportunities in live commerce and in-game digital marketplaces. Cohen said he would go directly to eBay shareholders, stating that the "fate of the business is going to be decided by the owners of the business." Cohen has also discussed GameStop's financial turnaround under his leadership, noting that the company was losing hundreds of millions of dollars per quarter when he joined the board and is now profitable, with SG&A reduced by $800 million. He has emphasized that he has not taken a salary or compensation from GameStop and that his investment comes from buying shares on the open market. Cohen has criticized what he described as an "entrenched" management team at eBay, claiming the CEO makes nearly $30 million annually without buying stock, and has committed to cutting $2 billion in costs at eBay within the first year if the acquisition proceeds.
Transcript (17 segments)
P
Piers Morgan0:00
Well, joining us now to react to that interview is Ryan Cohen, the CEO of GME. So Ryan, you were listening there to Andrew. There was a little glimmer of hope. He didn't think it was impossible, just very difficult. What's your reaction?
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Ryan Cohen0:15
It reminds me of the movie Dumb and Dumber where the girl tells Jim Carrey, he asks, 'What are my chances?' And she says like one in a million or something, and he says, 'So you're saying there's a chance?'
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Piers Morgan0:34
I mean, look, Andrew, notwithstanding your little dig which I played to him, that he didn't understand it, I think he does understand it. And he outlined just now the reasons for his concern and wanting you to really articulate how you thought this would work. I mean, do you understand his concerns? Do you accept that he's pretty expert in this and the concerns are valid?
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Ryan Cohen1:00
Yeah, I mean, it's tough. Everything that I've done has always been tough. If you would have looked at what the chances of Chewy to succeed against Amazon, the odds were very, very low. And turning around GameStop, if you asked all of Wall Street what they thought the business was going to be doing in 2026 when I joined the board, they would have said that the company would have been bankrupt a few times over. So this is, it's tough.
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Piers Morgan1:39
There have been reports today saying that you've not given up on this project and you may now take your proposal directly to shareholders for an attempted hostile takeover. Is that true?
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Ryan Cohen1:52
I'm definitely not going to give up. I'm not going to stop.
P
Piers Morgan2:00
So you're not denying the report which includes the proposal potentially direct to shareholders for an attempted hostile takeover. Has that been true?
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Ryan Cohen2:10
Ultimately the owners of the business are the shareholders and the fate of the business is going to be decided by the owners of the business. And the vote is going to come down to who they want running the business. Do you want an entrenched management team that's collecting tens of millions of dollars in risk-free compensation running the business? Or do you want someone that's putting all his chips on the table both through GameStop and me personally? Ultimately, the management team and the board has all kinds of perverse incentives. But I'm going to do everything to make sure that ultimately the owners of the business get to make that decision.
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Piers Morgan2:56
That doesn't sound like a denial.
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Ryan Cohen3:01
It's not a denial.
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Piers Morgan3:03
Wow. Okay. So that is news. So you are seriously considering a hostile takeover.
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Ryan Cohen3:13
Going to do whatever we need to do in order to maximize shareholder value for GameStop. We've made a big investment. We're one of the largest active shareholders of the business. And I love eBay and the business is highly complementary to GameStop's business and it's a business that I personally understand very well and is within my circle of competence. So, we'll see what happens.
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Piers Morgan3:50
Well, I look forward greatly to your next move on that. Just very quickly, SpaceX, you know, we just heard Andrew talking about it that it's going to be a rocket launch, but it's going to have to reach rocket levels to justify, I guess, all the hype. What's your view about it?
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Ryan Cohen4:10
I wouldn't bet against it. I wouldn't be arrogant enough to bet against Elon. And what I find interesting on all the skeptics on Wall Street is how quickly they are to take the side of the establishment. I don't know what it is. Maybe they play by the rules. They go on the show. They answer all their questions. They bow down to them. They get together in the Hamptons. I don't know what it is, but there's nothing that is more American than risking your own money. And if you end up making money, great. And if you end up losing money, then you lose money. And yet you look at the mainstream media like with GameStop as an example and it's almost like everyone is rooting and wants to see our demise. And it's the same thing in this situation too. They want to see us fail. They hope we fail. And doesn't really make sense to me. It's anti-American. What we're doing is tough, but we're taking on risk. And if you look at the current management team and the board, you've got a board of directors that are making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for attending a few board meetings. You've got a management team, you've got a CEO in particular that's making tens of millions of dollars, have never bought a single share of stock on the open market with his own money. And yet, why are they so quick to protect and want them to succeed? You talk about wealth inequality and all of these systemic risks and then you have someone that's taking on a lot of risk and putting a lot of skin in the game and it's like why do they want us to fail? I don't understand.
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Piers Morgan6:14
You know, I love entrepreneurs. I think they make the world go around. I think that most people are risk averse and play safe in their lives, in their business. And actually, if it wasn't for people like you and Elon Musk and others, the world would be a very dull place. And sometimes you got to speculate to accumulate and you may crash and burn, but as we learned in Top Gun, sometimes you will crash and burn, but other times you're going to win. And I wouldn't bet against you either, Ryan. I've enjoyed talking to you the few times we've done it. I hope we continue to do it. And if you pull it off, it'll be amazing. And if you don't, well, you had a go.
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Ryan Cohen6:52
I appreciate it, Piers. We're on the same page.
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Piers Morgan6:55
We are. And we will talk again. Ryan, thank you very much.