If there are formatting inch shoes I’m sorry I fucking hate it and it’s been a nightmare taking me two hours to get this up here. And there are examples that are duplicates that were left out to cut this post down. For example, I didn’t go into the shelf offering cause it’s covered in the convertible bond offering what I needed to discuss. I didn’t discuss the second bond offering date…..
How the eBay Acquisition Was Built Step by Step from March 2025 Through Last Friday’s Leak
Part 1 covered why the architecture fits. This is the calendar version. Same evidence base, but read in the order it was filed. The story tells itself when you put it on a timeline.
Full coverage of the tZERO patent portfolio, the tZERO Chain, the tZERO Securities ATS, and the tZERO Digital Asset Securities SPB D is in Part 1 of this DD. Link below.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/s/ZfEyXxqGi1
TL;DR
Thirteen months before the WSJ leak, GameStop’s board changed the rule that prevented executives from pledging shares as collateral. Three weeks later, Cohen pledged ~22M of his own shares to Charles Schwab and took a margin loan. Five days after that, eBay hit a 52 week low of $58.71.
Two months later, GameStop issued $2.25B in 0% convertible notes with explicit derivative counterparty repurchase mechanics written into the indenture. By Q3 fiscal 2025, the company had stockpiled $8.8B in cash and marketable securities, nearly double the prior year.
Subsequent to fiscal year end, Jan 31, 2026, GameStop pledged approximately $700M of cash as collateral for “cash or physically settled derivative transactions,” a disclosure that Gordon Haskett’s Don Bilson called “the wheels in motion” in a March 2026 institutional research note. eBay rose from that April 2025 low, $58.71, to a 52 week high of $107.13 on April 20, 2026. The WSJ broke the bid story on May 1, 2026, twelve days after that high.
The capital structure was built as a calendar. The events line up too cleanly to be improvised. Below, each entry is presented in order, with what is confirmed from primary sources and what remains structural inference.
The Calendar
March 2025
The board quietly changes the pledge rules
GameStop’s board updated company policy in March 2025 to permit executive officers and directors to pledge securities as collateral. Bloomberg reported this directly in coverage of Cohen’s subsequent margin loan filing. The policy change came in the same month that the FY2024 10K was being finalized, the same fiscal cycle in which the company would later disclose the $700M cash collateral pledge as a subsequent event one year later.
This is foundational. Without the policy change, none of what followed in Cohen’s personal account would have been authorized at the corporate governance level. Companies do not change executive pledge policies casually. The policy update is itself a signal that Cohen was about to deploy personal leverage in a way that required board cover.
April 3, 2025
Cohen pledges to Schwab. Five days later, eBay bottoms.
Per Form 4 filings disclosed April 3, 2025 and confirmed by Bloomberg, Cohen owned 37.3M GME shares, ~8.4% of GameStop, worth approximately $1B at the time. He pledged ~60% of those shares, ~22.4M shares, to Charles Schwab as collateral.
The Schwab pledge structure caps the loan at no more than 50% of pledged value, implying a loan capacity of approximately $500M. He then bought 500,000 additional GME shares using loan proceeds. Five days later, on April 8, 2025, eBay closed at $58.71, its 52 week low and a price the stock has not seen again since.
That timing is now a documented coincidence in the public record. Per Macrotrends, FinanceCharts, StockScan and others, eBay’s April 8, 2025 low of $58.71 is the lowest closing price in the trailing 52 weeks. eBay closed 2025 at $66.80 having begun the year there as well, meaning early April was the precise local bottom. Cohen took out a leveraged borrowing facility in the exact week eBay hit a multi year low.
The interpretation does not require asserting that Cohen specifically targeted eBay options at that moment. What it does establish is that the financing capability was put in place at the absolute lowest practical entry point for any subsequent eBay related derivative position. That is either coincidence or extraordinary timing.
April to October 2025
The long dated option window
This section is structural inference, not confirmed by Form 4 disclosure. It is the most likely interpretation of how Cohen’s documented margin loan capacity could have been deployed in the specific market conditions that prevailed.
Between April 2025 and October 2025, eBay traded between approximately $58.71 and $101.15, with the 2025 52 week high reached August 15, 2025. For most of that window, the stock spent significant time in the $60s and $70s.
In that price environment, long dated equity options, LEAPS, options expiring 9 plus months out, on eBay would have offered substantial leverage. As an illustrative framework, a January 2027 $80 strike call when eBay was trading at $60 would have been ~33% out of the money. With moderate implied volatility and 21 months to expiry, premium might have been $5 to $8 per underlying share, or $500 to $800 per contract.
By May 1, 2026 with eBay at $104.07, that same $80 call would be in the money by ~$24 with residual time value of $5 to $7. Total option value would be approximately $2,900 to $3,100 per contract. Return on capital would be roughly 4 to 6x.
If a hypothetical $100M deployment of margin proceeds was spread across 150,000 to 200,000 contracts in this style, the resulting position would now be worth $400M to $600M. That position would represent notional exposure of 15M to 20M shares, between 3.4% and 4.5% of eBay’s float.
To convert that paper value into actual eBay shares while repaying the margin loan, a holder could sell a portion of the option position to generate cash for loan repayment. The holder could then use the residual to exercise remaining options into stock, or sell additional contracts to fund cashless exercise.
In a realistic outcome, this kind of strategy could produce a personal eBay position in the range of 2M to 5M shares, or 0.5% to 1.1% of eBay. That position could be acquired at an effective cost basis far below current market, funded almost entirely by the option appreciation rather than fresh capital.
This is not confirmed. No Form 4 has surfaced showing Cohen personally holds eBay options or eBay equity. The mechanism is plausible, the timing is precise, and the precedent of Cohen using margin lending to amplify positions is documented, but the specific eBay deployment is inference. If you bring this up in comments, present it as “the mechanism would work as follows, and the timing is consistent,” not as a confirmed Cohen position.
June 17, 2025
The 0% convertible note platform
GameStop issued $2.25B in 0.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2032 under an indenture with U.S. Bank Trust Company. Three structural features deserve attention.
Expandable platform.
The indenture permits issuance of additional notes under the same agreement with identical terms, subject to specified conditions. The June 2025 financing was not a one shot capital raise. It was the establishment of a platform that could be reopened to provide more capital quickly if a transformational deal required it.
Derivative counterparty repurchase mechanics.
The indenture explicitly authorizes repurchases through “open market, privately negotiated transactions, public tender or exchange offers, or through counterparties to private agreements, including cash settled swaps or other derivatives.” This is unusually specific drafting. Most convertible indentures permit open market repurchases without spelling out swap counterparty mechanics.
Settlement form flexibility.
The notes can be settled in cash, physically, delivery of GME stock, or a combination, at GameStop’s election upon conversion or fundamental change. In any major M&A scenario, settlement form affects share dilution, cash outlay, and pro forma capital structure. Maximum optionality was preserved.
The use of proceeds language was straightforward: “general corporate purposes, including potential acquisitions and investments.” The June 2025 indenture was drafted before the eBay bid timeline became visible. The drafters chose to include derivative counterparty repurchase language and platform expansion provisions anyway. Read against the $700M cash collateral pledge that arrived eight months later, with the same derivative language and the same flexible settlement structure, the indenture looks like the corporate finance team building the toolkit before the toolbox would actually be needed.
Summer to Fall 2025
Cash on hand triples
GameStop reported Q3 FY2025 results on December 9, 2025, for the period ending November 1, 2025. Cash and cash equivalents were $7.84B, compared with $4.58B in the prior year Q3. Marketable securities were $986.9M, compared with $32.8M in the prior year Q3. Total liquid assets were approximately $8.83B, and Bitcoin holdings were $519.4M at quarter close.
A clarification matters here, because retail commentary has sometimes asserted GameStop was building an equity stake in eBay during this window. It was not visible in the Q3 10Q.
The marketable securities composition disclosed in the 10Q was specifically time deposits, cash equivalent instruments, Treasuries, money market, and short duration sovereign debt. It was not equity securities in eBay or any other named issuer. As of November 1, 2025, the public balance sheet shows GameStop accumulated $8.83B in dry powder, but it was held in cash and cash equivalents form, not as visible equity exposure.
Two implications follow from that. First, any direct eBay equity acquisition by GameStop would have occurred after November 1, 2025, within the fiscal Q4 FY2025 window, Nov 2, 2025 to Jan 31, 2026, or during the post fiscal year end window where the $700M derivative pledge was disclosed. Second, GameStop chose to keep its powder in the most liquid possible form right up through Q3, which is exactly what a company would do if it were preparing to deploy capital on a specific transaction.
What is confirmed is that GameStop’s liquid balance roughly doubled year over year. What is not confirmed is any direct eBay equity position visible in public 10Q filings to date. The FY2025 10K, the same filing that disclosed the $700M subsequent event, covers the fiscal Q4 period and would be the first public window in which any direct eBay equity acquisition could appear. Readers should examine the marketable securities breakdown directly.
January 2026
The Bitcoin covered call disclosure, operational proof of concept
GameStop’s FY2025 10K, filed in March 2026, disclosed that the company had pledged 4,709 of its 4,710 Bitcoin, ~$368M as of January 31, 2026, to Coinbase Credit as collateral for selling covered call options. The strikes were $105,000 to $110,000, and the expirations were late March 2026.
This is structurally separate from the eBay thesis. It is an income generation strategy on Bitcoin holdings, not an acquisition mechanism. But it matters operationally because it proves GameStop runs derivative programs at scale, in production, today.
The infrastructure is established, including counterparty relationships, collateral management, risk reporting, and accounting treatment. The accounting language used, “economic exposure is consistent with direct ownership of the underlying Bitcoin, despite the reclassification,” establishes a disclosure pattern that would translate directly to any future equity derivative position.
The $700M pledge that follows was not GameStop’s first derivative program. It was the next iteration. The Bitcoin covered call disclosure is the operational evidence that the corporate machinery for derivative based exposure already runs.
Late January 2026
Fiscal year end. Whatever was bought, bought. GameStop’s fiscal year ends January 31. The FY2025 10K, filed in March 2026, reports the balance sheet as of January 31, 2026. Anything that was on the books as of that date, including equity securities, derivative positions, and additional cash, sits in the audited financial statements.
The $700M derivative collateral disclosure that appears as a “Subsequent Event” was therefore pledged after January 31, 2026. That places the pledge between February 1, 2026 and the 10K filing date in March 2026, a tight window of roughly 30 to 45 days.
Cross reference that window against eBay’s price. eBay traded in the $90s through January 2026, broke into the $100s in February, and ran to its 52 week high of $107.13 on April 20, 2026. The $700M cash collateral pledge happened during the early phase of that run.
February to March 2026
The $700M Subsequent Event
The disclosure language, verbatim from the FY2025 10K Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements,
Subsequent Event section:
“Subsequent to year end, the Company posted approximately $0.7 billion of cash into an account of the Company that is pledged as collateral for certain existing and potential cash or physically settled derivative transactions.”
“Cash OR physically settled.”
Cash settled derivatives pay out price differences without share movement. Physically settled derivatives result in actual delivery of underlying shares. Including both in the same disclosure means GameStop explicitly contemplated transactions where shares would actually move. That is the language of equity stake building, not income generation.
“Existing and potential.”
The pledge was not only for transactions already in place. It was also a war chest for additional derivatives.
The Gordon Haskett analyst read
Don Bilson, head of event driven research at Gordon Haskett Research Advisors, published an institutional research note in March 2026 with two key framings. First, the disclosure was “a signal that he has put the wheels in motion.” Second, Bilson wrote, “You might be thinking $700m isn’t that much, but given the leverage GME might have layered on top of its commitment, it figures that Cohen owns very substantial economic exposure to a particular name.”
That second sentence is the one that matters. $700M is collateral, not the position size. In equity total return swaps, prime brokers typically require 10% to 30% margin on the notional value of the swap. eBay is large cap, an S&P 500 component, and highly liquid, placing it at the favorable end of the margin spectrum. A $700M cash collateral pledge can support the following structural exposure levels:
At 30% margin: ~$2.3B notional, approximately 22M eBay shares, approximately 5% of eBay.
At 20% margin: ~$3.5B notional, approximately 33.6M eBay shares, approximately 7.5% of eBay.
At 15% margin: ~$4.7B notional, approximately 45M eBay shares, approximately 10% of eBay.
At 10% margin: ~$7B notional, approximately 67M eBay shares, approximately 15% of eBay.
These are structural ceilings, not claims. The actual exposure depends on derivative type, counterparty terms, and how much of the $700M is allocated to a single name. But the math is not in dispute. $700M of collateral represents the floor of the economic exposure with leverage layered on top.
This is the playbook Bill Ackman ran on Allergan with Pershing Square / Valeant. Cash settled total return swaps were used to build economic exposure without 13D disclosure, then converted to physical when ready to go public. The mechanics are well established and entirely consistent with US activist practice.
Mid to Late April 2026
The accumulation visible on tape
In the final weeks before the WSJ leak, eBay options activity drew unusual attention. eBay reached its all time recent high of $107.13 on April 20, 2026. Options volume in eBay during this period was elevated relative to baseline, and the underlying ran approximately 6% to 8% above its prior trading range.
This is consistent with, but not proof of, additional position building by GameStop using the financing infrastructure established earlier. The cleanest test will be the GameStop Q1 FY2026 10Q, due ~June 9, 2026, which will disclose marketable securities composition and derivative position fair values as of the period end, ~May 2, 2026.
Worth flagging, unusual options activity preceding M&A leaks is a regulatory red flag. If the SEC or DOJ later determines that the WSJ reported bid was telegraphed early through options accumulation by the bidder itself, that creates separate exposure. The structurally aggressive read of GameStop having continued to add via options in the last two weeks before the leak should be balanced against the fact that doing so creates regulatory complications that sophisticated counsel would advise against. The base case is that the late April options activity reflects market participants reacting to public signals, tZERO patent disclosure April 30, and prior accumulation rumors, rather than direct GameStop participation.
April 22, 2026
MB adds to GME position at $25.56
MB publicly added to his GME position at $25.56, with the explicit framing: “I have been waiting for lower prices, and decided to pay up today before it moves more.” That is positioning language ahead of news.
Mb has held GME positions before, 2019 to 2020, and mb prior to the January 2021 squeeze. His reentry in early 2026 with that specific framing is the kind of signal sophisticated readers note carefully.
April 30, 2026
tZERO discloses the patent portfolio
tZERO published a press release highlighting 5 of its 23 patent families, 103 patents total, covering compliance tokens, splittable token structures, identity broker interoperability, and ATS blockchain bridging. CEO Alan Konevsky framed the disclosure as part of a strategic IP review and stated tZERO is “aggressively identifying other market opportunities where our intellectual property rights may be utilized, monetized or otherwise enforced.”
May 1, 2026, Friday after hours
WSJ confirms the build
WSJ, with corroboration from Bloomberg and Reuters, reported that GameStop is preparing a takeover bid for eBay. WSJ also reported that GameStop “has been quietly building a stake in eBay’s shares ahead of a potential offer.”
The reporting further stated that GameStop could submit an offer as soon as this month. It also noted that if eBay’s board is unreceptive, Cohen could take it directly to shareholders.
eBay closed at $104.07, +11% to 14% AH. GME closed at $26.53, +4% AH.
WSJ source of record M&A reporting is not casual. The Journal does not extend the “people familiar with the matter” sourcing standard for transformational deal coverage without reasonable confirmation. The “quietly building a stake” framing is the language of build up via direct shares plus derivatives, which is exactly what the calendar above describes operationally.
The Math: What This Could Mean for Cohen Personally
This is illustrative, not confirmed. No Form 4 disclosure shows Cohen personally holding eBay equity or eBay options. What follows is the mechanism that would be consistent with the documented timing.
Cohen’s documented capital position as of April 2025 was approximately 37.3M GME shares, or ~8.4% of GameStop. The value was approximately $1B. The Schwab pledge covered ~22.4M shares, or 60% of his holdings, and the implied margin loan capacity was approximately $500M, or 50% of pledged value.
If a portion of that capacity were deployed into long dated eBay calls during the April to October 2025 window, the math gets interesting. eBay traded between $58.71 and $101.15 during that window. Long dated $80 strike LEAPS expiring January 2027 would have been priced at approximately $5 to $8 per underlying share when eBay was in the $60s. By May 1, 2026, with eBay at $104.07, those same options would be worth approximately $29 to $32 per underlying share, including intrinsic value plus residual time value.
Illustrative scenarios follow.
Conservative deployment, $50M into options at $7/share. That would imply 71,400 contracts purchased, 7.14M shares notional, and ~1.6% of eBay. Position value at $30/share would be $214M, with a net gain of ~$164M. That could fund partial loan service plus a small physical stake via cashless exercise.
Moderate deployment, $150M into options at $7/share. That would imply 214,000 contracts, 21.4M shares notional, and ~4.8% of eBay. Position value at $30/share would be $642M, with a net gain of ~$492M. That could fund full margin loan repayment plus a meaningful physical stake, 1M to 2M shares, via partial exercise.
Aggressive deployment, $300M into options at $7/share. That would imply 428,000 contracts, 42.8M shares notional, and ~9.6% of eBay. Position value at $30/share would be $1.28B, with a net gain of ~$980M. That would test option market liquidity, but it is theoretically possible across multiple strikes and expiries. It could fund full margin loan repayment plus a substantial physical stake, 3M to 5M shares, or 0.7% to 1.1% of eBay, via partial exercise plus cash retained.
The mechanism in plain terms is simple. Cohen could borrow against GME at the eBay bottom, buy long dated calls cheap, watch eBay re rate by ~75% over 13 months, sell a portion of the option position at multiple times the original premium to repay the margin loan in full, and use the remainder to exercise into actual eBay shares acquired at an effective cost basis far below current market.
This is “pennies on the dollar” leverage in the literal sense. The option premium represented a small fraction of the underlying share price, and that ratio compressed dramatically as eBay rose.
Repeat caveat, mechanism plausible, timing precise, no specific Form 4 confirmation. Treat this as an illustrative framework, not confirmed personal position.
The Math: What This Could Mean for GameStop Corporately
The corporate level capacity is more concretely supported by primary sources. Confirmed dry powder as of Q3 FY2025, Nov 1, 2025, included $7.84B of cash plus cash equivalents, $987M of marketable securities classified as time deposits, and $519M of Bitcoin. Total liquid assets were approximately $9.34B.
The confirmed subsequent event after Jan 31, 2026 was the $700M cash pledge for “cash or physically settled derivative transactions.” That pledge creates a structural ceiling on eBay economic exposure when combined with direct equity plus derivatives.
If GameStop builds direct equity to just under the 5% 13D trigger and overlays the $700M cash collateral with leveraged derivative exposure, the structure could look like this. Direct exposure of ~4.9%, or ~22M shares, would not require 13D. Derivative exposure, depending on margin terms, could add 5% to 15% incremental notional. Combined economic exposure ceiling would be 10% to 20% of eBay.
If GameStop further deploys 75% of remaining cash on hand, approximately $6.4B at current levels, for additional eBay accumulation at current prices, the math changes again. $6.4B divided by $104.07 equals approximately 61.5M additional shares, or ~13.8% of eBay. Combined ceiling could reach 23% to 34% economic exposure if fully deployed.
Voting versus economic distinction is critical. Most derivatives, including total return swaps, do not transfer voting rights to the long position holder until physical settlement. So GameStop’s voting power may be considerably smaller than its economic exposure right up until the final phase of the campaign. The strategy is typically to hold swap exposure until close to a key event, then convert to physical, same Ackman playbook.
These numbers are ceilings based on capacity, not claims about actual deployment. The Q1 FY2026 10Q will be the first primary source disclosure of post Jan 31 derivative and equity positions, expected ~June 9, 2026.
The Tactical Reality: Why Proxy Access Doesn’t Apply
And Why That’s Bullish
eBay’s bylaws include a proxy access provision allowing a shareholder or group of up to 20 shareholders to nominate directors on eBay’s own proxy card. To use it, they must hold at least 3% of eBay common stock and must have held that stock continuously for at least three years.
A new GameStop stake, built in 2025 to 2026, does not satisfy the three year holding requirement. No matter how large the position becomes today, GameStop cannot use eBay’s clean proxy access route
That excludes one path and forces Cohen toward the more aggressive routes.
Path 1
Tender offer, most likely
A tender offer made directly to eBay shareholders bypasses the board entirely. No proxy access required, no holding period, and GameStop can use stock or cash as direct consideration. WSJ explicitly noted that if eBay’s board is unreceptive, “Cohen could go directly to shareholders.” That is tender offer language.
Path 2
Hostile proxy fight via advance notice nomination
Outside proxy access, a shareholder can still nominate directors at eBay’s annual meeting using the advance notice provisions in the bylaws. This requires timely notice in proper form, full disclosure of the nominating shareholder and nominees, and compliance with universal proxy rules, effective for all US public companies since 2022. Cohen has used this path before at Bed Bath & Beyond and at GameStop itself.
Path 3
Negotiated friendly merger
Most M&A still ends here. Cohen makes an offer, the board negotiates, and the deal goes to a shareholder vote with both boards’ recommendations. The three year holding requirement is irrelevant under this path.
Path 4
Combination
The most aggressive activist playbook combines all three. File 13D, launch tender, simultaneously nominate alternative directors via advance notice, and use derivative exposure converted to physical to vote shares at the meeting. This is what the documented $700M derivative platform and the indenture’s flexible settlement provisions would specifically enable.
The proxy access exclusion is bullish, not bearish. If GameStop’s tactical options are narrowed to tender, proxy fight, or negotiated deal, all three paths benefit from the financing infrastructure Cohen has put in place. By building the capital structure for the more aggressive routes, GameStop telegraphed they are prepared to use them.
The Institutional Battlefield
eBay’s confirmed greater than 3% holders, per the 2026 proxy, record date April 20, 2026, with 444,781,681 shares outstanding, are concentrated among large institutions. BlackRock, Inc. held 43.87M shares, or 9.86%, with sole voting power over 37.87M and sole dispositive power over all 43.87M.
Vanguard Capital Management LLC held 33.73M shares, or 7.59%, with sole voting power over only 4.49M. State Street Corporation held 24.44M shares, or 5.49%, with voting and dispositive flows through funds and clients per proxy footnote. Vanguard Portfolio Management LLC held 23.46M shares, or 5.27%, with sole voting power over only 57K.
Combined, those holders represent approximately 28.2% of eBay. No individual eBay executive or director is anywhere near 3%. All directors and executive officers as a group own 2.96M shares, less than 1%. CEO Jamie Iannone, the largest individual insider, owns 1.52M shares, also less than 1%.
The practical implication for any tender offer or proxy fight is straightforward. The deal lives or dies with the institutional bloc. Most are passive index holders who vote per ISS / Glass Lewis recommendations and their own governance frameworks. Their incentive structure favors deals with strong cash components and clear strategic logic, not all stock offers from smaller acquirers without a coherent narrative.
That favors a structure with substantial cash plus GameStop stock consideration. Which is consistent with the $700M cash pledge, the $9B balance sheet, and the expandable convertible note platform sitting in waiting.
eBay’s Defensive Posture
Brian Sharples
eBay added Brian Sharples to its board effective March 20, 2026. Sharples co founded HomeAway and served as CEO and Chairman through its $3.9B sale to Expedia in 2015. He currently chairs GoDaddy, sits on Ally Financial’s board, and has a career profile built around marketplace platforms, digital services, and financial services governance.
Adding a marketplace operator with proven defense and sale experience to the board approximately five weeks before an unsolicited bid leak is not ordinary governance maintenance. The timing is consistent with eBay’s board having visibility into the pending bid.
The directional read is not that Sharples will reject the bid. It is that eBay is preparing for either outcome. A board with a HomeAway / Expedia style operator can negotiate a friendly merger from strength or defend against a hostile by demonstrating value creation independence. Either way, the price goes up.
Confirmed
Confirmed by primary sources:
March 2025 GameStop board policy change permitting executive officers and directors to pledge securities.
April 3, 2025 Form 4 showing Cohen pledged ~22.4M GME shares to Charles Schwab for a margin loan. He also bought 500K additional GME shares.
April 8, 2025 eBay 52 week low at $58.71, per Macrotrends, FinanceCharts, and StockScan.
June 17, 2025 indenture for $2.25B of 0% Convertible Senior Notes due 2032. The structure is expandable and includes derivative counterparty repurchase mechanics.
Q3 FY2025 10Q, period ending Nov 1, 2025, showing cash plus marketable securities of $8.83B. Marketable securities were specifically time deposits, not equity in eBay or any other named issuer.
FY2025 10K Bitcoin covered call disclosure showing 4,709 of 4,710 BTC pledged to Coinbase Credit. The disclosed strike range was $105K to $110K, with late March 2026 expiry.
FY2025 10K Subsequent Event showing ~$700M pledged for “cash or physically settled derivative transactions.”
Gordon Haskett / Don Bilson institutional research note in March 2026. The note used the “wheels in motion” framing and described substantial economic exposure to a “particular name.”
Mb April 22, 2026 GME purchase at $25.56 with quoted positioning rationale.
April 30, 2026 tZERO patent disclosure, covered fully in Part 1.
May 1, 2026 WSJ / Bloomberg / Reuters reporting of GameStop preparing an eBay bid.
eBay greater than 3% institutional holders, including BlackRock at 9.86%, Vanguard CM at 7.59%, State Street at 5.49%, and Vanguard PM at 5.27%.
Brian Sharples added to the eBay board on March 20, 2026.
Not confirmed; structural inference only:
That Cohen specifically deployed Schwab margin loan capacity into eBay long dated options. Timing alignment is documented, but specific deployment is not.
That GameStop directly purchased eBay equity in fiscal Q4 FY2025, Nov 2025 to Jan 2026. The first primary source window for such a position would be the FY2025 10K marketable securities composition, filed March 2026. Readers should examine directly.
That the $700M derivative collateral specifically corresponds to eBay. Bilson connects it to a “particular name,” but no SEC filing names eBay.
That the late April 2026 options activity in eBay reflected GameStop accumulation rather than market participant reaction to public signals.
The specific size of any direct GameStop equity stake in eBay is not confirmed. The specific counterparties on GameStop’s derivative transactions are also not confirmed.
GameStop position.
That would imply the WSJ “quietly building” framing was overstated. It would not kill the architecture thesis, but it would weaken the stake building thesis.
- Cohen pulls the bid.
Financing infrastructure remains intact for a future target. But the eBay specific thesis sleeps.
- eBay’s board successfully defends with a poison pill or white knight.
Operational integration thesis still holds. But timing reverts to multi year.
What To Watch for in rough order of confirmation strength:
Schedule 13D filing disclosing GameStop crossing 5% of eBay.
This is required within 10 calendar days of the threshold cross. It would be the cleanest direct confirmation of a physical voting stake.
GameStop 8K announcing a formal offer.
This would confirm that the reported bid moved from press leak to official corporate action. It would also frame the consideration structure.
eBay 8K acknowledging an unsolicited offer or “exploring strategic alternatives.”
This would confirm that eBay’s board is formally responding. It would also reveal whether the path is friendly, hostile, or still fluid.
- GameStop Q1 FY2026 10Q, expected around June 9, 2026.
This is the first official disclosure window for marketable securities composition, including any eBay equity. It is also the first official window for derivative position fair values and updated capital structure post collateral pledge.
- Bid pricing leaks.
WSJ / Bloomberg follow up reporting would likely narrow the valuation range. That would help determine whether the deal is cash heavy, stock heavy, or mixed.
- Form 4 filings from Cohen.
Any additional GameStop or eBay personal trades during the bid window would matter. They would also sharpen the personal leverage side of the thesis.
- Additional convertible note issuance.
This would signal expansion of the financing platform for a larger consideration package. It would also reinforce that the June 2025 indenture was built as a reusable capital tool.
- HSR filing acknowledgment from FTC / DOJ Antitrust Division.
That would show the deal has moved into formal antitrust review. It would also help confirm transaction size and seriousness.
eBay proxy supplement or revised bylaws.
Defensive amendments would signal a hostile path. A calmer disclosure posture would suggest negotiation.
Any tZERO partnership announcement with GameStop, eBay, PSA, or Collectors.
This would directly connect the capital structure thesis to the Part 1 architecture. It would also make the collectibles tokenization rail much harder to dismiss as speculation.
GameStop’s next 10K, FY2026, filed around April 2027.
This would provide full disclosure of derivative transactions during the year. It is slower, but it would be the deepest retrospective confirmation.
Cohen’s option vesting tranches.
The first $20B market cap tranche would clear immediately on a successful eBay deal. That would tie executive incentive alignment directly into deal execution.
The single cleanest confirmation would be a 13D filing combined with a GameStop 8K announcing the offer. Once both surface, the calendar above becomes the operating manual rather than the inference document.
Sources
Primary disclosures:
GameStop Corp., Form 10K, FY2025, filed March 2026, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, “Subsequent Event” section.
GameStop Corp., Form 10Q, Q3 FY2025, filed December 2025, Notes, Marketable Securities composition, time deposits.
GameStop Corp., June 17, 2025 Indenture with U.S. Bank Trust Company National Association for 0.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2032, $2.25B initial, expandable.
GameStop Corp., FY2025 10K Bitcoin covered call disclosure, Coinbase Credit pledge of 4,709 BTC, $105K to $110K strikes.
GameStop Corp., March 2025 board policy update on executive securities pledging.
Form 4 filings, Ryan Cohen, April 3, 2025, Schwab pledge and 500K share purchase.
Analyst coverage:
Don Bilson, Gordon Haskett Research Advisors, March 2026 institutional research note connecting the $700M subsequent event to Cohen’s “very big” acquisition statement.
Bloomberg, “Ryan Cohen Ramps Up $1 Billion GameStop Bet With Margin Loan,” April 15, 2025.
Reporting:
Wall Street Journal, “GameStop Is Preparing Offer to Acquire eBay,” May 1, 2026.
Bloomberg, “EBay Soars on Report That GameStop Is Preparing a Takeover Bid,” May 1, 2026.
Reuters via Yahoo Finance, “GameStop is preparing offer for eBay, WSJ reports,” May 1, 2026.
eBay price history:
Macrotrends, EBay 15 Year Stock Price History, 52 week low $58.71 on April 8, 2025, 52 week high $107.13 on April 20, 2026, May 1, 2026 close $104.07.
FinanceCharts and StockScan, corroborating 2025 price range.
Yahoo Finance, historical pricing.
eBay governance:
eBay Inc., Definitive Proxy Statement, Schedule 14A, 2026.
eBay Inc., Bylaws, proxy access provision and advance notice nomination procedures.
eBay Inc., Press release on Brian Sharples board appointment, March 20, 2026.
Schedule 13G filings, BlackRock, Vanguard CM, State Street, Vanguard PM.
Regulatory framework:
SEC Schedule 13D / 13G filing requirements, 5% threshold, 10 day filing window.
Hart Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, 2026 transaction value threshold of $119.5M.
SEC Universal Proxy Rules, effective 2022.
Disclosures: Not financial advice. I have a position in GME. This DD reflects publicly available information, primary source SEC filings, named institutional analyst notes, source of record reporting, and reasonable structural inferences as of May 2, 2026.
Several specific claims, particularly Cohen’s hypothetical option deployment and any direct GameStop equity stake in eBay, are explicitly labeled as structural inference, not confirmed by Form 4 / 13D / 13G filings as of the publication date.
The connection between the $700M derivative collateral and any specific named target is similarly inferential. Gordon Haskett’s Don Bilson made the linkage to Cohen’s acquisition statement in a published note, but no SEC filing has named eBay as the target.
Multiple counterarguments are real and labeled as such throughout. Do your own research.
If anything in this post is wrong, please reply with a primary source link. I’d rather get corrected publicly than mislead the community.
