<body><p>STORY: :: eBay</p><p>GameStop wants to buy eBay. </p><p>The retailer said Sunday that it has offered to buy all common shares of the online marketplace for about $56 billion.</p><p>Chief Executive Ryan Cohen said the offer price is $125 a share in a 50-50 mix of cash and stock.</p><p>The bid represents a premium of about 20% based on eBay's Friday close.</p><p>In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Cohen said that the move would create huge opportunities to improve earnings and cut costs.</p><p>:: eBay</p><p>He added that the combination "could be a legit competitor to Amazon."</p><p>If eBay is not receptive, Cohen said he was prepared to run a proxy fight and take the offer directly to shareholders.</p><p>He added that he has secured a commitment letter from TD Bank for about $20 billion in debt financing.</p><p>:: eBay</p><p>Neither the lender nor eBay would immediately respond to Reuters requests for a comment.</p><p>The proposal comes as GameStop grapples with disruptions from a shift toward online shopping and digital purchases</p><p>According to Reuters calculations, the company has a market value of almost $12 billion, compared to $46 billion for eBay. </p><p>That means the potential deal would upend the usual merger and acquisition playbook, as it's rare for a public company to target one nearly four times its size.</p></body>
