Remember when Ryan Cohen turned GameStop from a dying brick-and-mortar relic into a meme stock legend? Well, it turns out that energy doesn't translate so well into hostile corporate takeover attempts. According to Kotaku, GameStop's CEO tried to make a move on eBay, and the rejection letter he got back was absolutely savage.
eBay's board didn't just say no - they hit Cohen with a critical hit, calling his proposal 'neither credible nor attractive.' That's boardroom speak for 'we'd rather sell vintage Beanie Babies for 99 cents than let you anywhere near our company.' It's the kind of response that makes you want to throw your controller at the wall.
From meme stock hero to rejected suitor
Cohen rode the GameStop meme wave to legendary status back in 2021, becoming the internet's favourite Wall Street troll and proving that retail investors could actually stick it to hedge funds. He then took over as CEO and... things have been quiet on the GameStop front ever since, with the company still figuring out what it actually wants to be when it grows up.
Now it seems like Cohen was cooking up a bold new strategy - pivot GameStop into some kind of e-commerce powerhouse by absorbing eBay. On paper, it's not the wildest idea ever conceived in a boardroom. In practice, eBay's board apparently looked at the proposal, laughed, and wrote back with the corporate equivalent of a 'get rekt' message.
What happens when your strat gets hard-countered
This is essentially a high-profile strategy game where Cohen attempted a rush move, and eBay's board simply walled up and defended with zero interest. The rejection wasn't just a 'thanks but no thanks' - it was a full-on dismissal of Cohen's credibility as a dealmaker, which stings considerably more.
For GameStop fans and meme stock veterans who were hoping Cohen had some secret endgame unlocked, this is a bit of a reality check. The guy who pulled off one of the most audacious plays in stock market history has officially run into a final boss that didn't flinch. Whether this is just the first attempt in a longer campaign or a complete game over for the eBay ambitions remains to be seen - but right now, the scoreboard is not looking great for Team Cohen.
