Filing Flows › GameStop (GME) › Takeover & LBO
Is GameStop (GME) a takeover target?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($31.50 a share) would return a loss of about 5% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; no price, however low, gets a buyer to 20%. Historically 2.2% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.43× the average). Latest signal (2026-10-20): eBay rejects GameStop’s $56 bn takeover bid.
The buyout, step by step
| Entry | Amount | How |
|---|---|---|
| Offer price a share | $31.50 | today's $24.23 plus 30% |
| × shares | 592.6 million | |
| = Equity value | $18.7B | |
| + Debt refinanced | $4.2B | |
| − Cash | $5.1B | |
| = Enterprise value | $17.8B | 35.6× EBITDA of $499M |
| Fees | $355M | 2% of the price |
| New debt | $2.7B | 5.5× EBITDA at 7.65% a year; the limit that binds: 5.5× EBITDA |
| Buyer's own money | $15.4B | 85% of the cost |
5 years under the buyer
| Year | Revenue | EBITDA | Interest | Free cash flow | Debt left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $3.4B | $484M | $210M | $212M | $2.5B |
| Year 2 | $3.4B | $477M | $194M | $220M | $2.3B |
| Year 3 | $3.4B | $477M | $177M | $234M | $2.1B |
| Year 4 | $3.4B | $484M | $159M | $249M | $1.8B |
| Year 5 | $3.5B | $499M | $140M | $271M | $1.6B |
The exit and the buyer's return
| Exit | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Exit multiple | 27.0× EBITDA | today's trading multiple, before any premium |
| Enterprise value at exit | $13.4B | |
| − Debt left | $1.6B | |
| = Buyer's equity | $11.9B | |
| Money multiple | 0.77× | on $15.4B put in |
| Buyer's yearly return (IRR) | −5.0% |
Price against return
What the buyer makes at other premiums over today's $24.23.
| Premium | Price a share | Buyer's IRR |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $26.65 | −0.9% |
| 20% | $29.08 | −3.1% |
| 30% | $31.50 | −5.0% |
| 40% | $33.92 | −6.7% |
| 50% | $36.34 | −8.3% |
The figures used
| Figure | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue, last 12 months | $3.6B | |
| EBITDA, last 12 months | $499M | 14.1% of revenue |
| Depreciation and amortization | $19.4M | |
| Capital spending | $16.7M | |
| Debt | $4.2B | |
| Cash | $5.1B | |
| Share price | $24.23 | on Oct 30, 2026 |
Fixed rules, the same as the interactive view's starting point: the shares are bought at today's price plus 30%, the company's debt is refinanced and fees take 2%. New debt is the least of 5.5× EBITDA, 65% of the price and the amount whose interest EBITDA covers 2 times, at 7.65% a year (SOFR 3.89% plus the high-yield B spread 3.26% plus 0.5%, rates of Oct 15, 2026). Revenue grows -3.0% in the first year — the company's own rate, held between −3% and +8% — fading to 3% by year 5; the EBITDA margin, depreciation and capital spending stay at today's share of revenue; working capital takes 10% of each year's added revenue; tax is 18% of profit after interest. Every dollar of free cash flow repays debt. After 5 years the buyer sells at today's multiple of EBITDA.
What a takeover could cost
Takeovers on record paid a median premium of 32.5% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 20% to 51.8%), according to the 1,437 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, GameStop would cost about $32.10 a share, $19.0B for all its shares.
| Premium | % | Price a share | All shares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low end (a quarter of deals paid less) | 20% | $29.08 | $17.2B |
| Median | 32.5% | $32.10 | $19.0B |
| High end (a quarter paid more) | 51.8% | $36.78 | $21.8B |
The odds, from history
Historically 2.2% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.43× the average). Its figures put it in decile 1 of 10 (10 = the most likely to be bought). The odds come from a model of every merger proxy, tender-offer response and going-private statement filed on EDGAR since 2011, set against each company's size, margins, debt, cash flow and growth the year before.
Rumors and deal signals
- 2026-10-20 · news · eBay rejects GameStop’s $56 bn takeover bid
GameStop's latest quarter
GameStop, Q2 FY27: revenue $790M (-19% year over year), operating margin 20.3%, net earnings $299M, operating cash flow $62.4M. The chart follows the revenue to costs, profit and cash.
Questions
Is GameStop being acquired?
The latest signal on file is from 2026-10-20: eBay rejects GameStop’s $56 bn takeover bid. A headline is not a deal; Filing Flows lists the news, 8-K filings and 13D filings about a sale.
Could private equity buy GameStop?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($31.50 a share) would return a loss of about 5% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; no price, however low, gets a buyer to 20%.
What would a takeover of GameStop cost?
Takeovers on record paid a median premium of 32.5% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 20% to 51.8%), according to the 1,437 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, GameStop would cost about $32.10 a share, $19.0B for all its shares.
Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.