EBay rejects GameStop's $56-billion takeover offer

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California online marketplace EBay said Tuesday its board rejected GameStop’s unsolicited $56-billion takeover offer.The proposal was “neither credible nor attractive,” EBay’s board said in a statement.The San José company said it rejected the bid after considering various factors, including how it could impact growth and profitability.“With its differentiated global marketplace and a clear strategy, EBay’s Board is confident that the company, under its current management team, is well-positioned to continue to drive sustainable growth, execute with discipline, and deliver long-term value for our shareholders,” the board’s letter to GameStop’s Chief Executive Ryan Cohen said.The rejection sets back video game retailer GameStop’s bold ecommerce ambitions to take on bigger rivals such as Amazon.

Cohen told news outlets that he planned to grow EBay, noting that the company, like GameStop, also focuses on selling collectibles such as trading cards.Analysts expressed skepticism about the offer, including how GameStop would pay for the takeover.As of Tuesday, GameStop, headquartered in Texas, has a market cap of $10 billion.

That’s much lower than EBay’s $48-billion market cap.GameStop didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this month, GameStop announced it offered to acquire EBay for $125.00 per share in cash and stock.The proposal represented a 46% premium to EBay’s closing price on Feb.

4, according to a news release from the company.GameStop also started buying EBay shares and has a 5% stake in the company.A letter from investment bank TD Securities to GameStop said that it was “highly confident” that the company would raise up to $20 billion to fund the deal.

Questions still swirled around whether GameStop could afford to buy eBay and compete with Amazon.In an interview with CNBC, Cohen said the company was offering �...