Ryan Cohen's 9% stake just became a very expensive suggestion box at eBay 🧃

eBay shareholders rejected a governance proposal at the company's virtual annual meeting that would have lowered the threshold to call a special shareholder meeting from 20% to 10%, closing a key path available to GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen. Preliminary voting results indicate that about 210 million shares voted against the measure, while roughly 157 million voted in favor. eBay's board had recommended a vote against the proposal ahead of the meeting. Cohen holds a stake of nearly 9% in eBay, and at the 10% threshold he would have been able to force a special shareholder meeting independently, without needing to build a wider coalition.

The rejected proposal comes as tensions between Cohen and eBay management spilled into public view. eBay suspended Cohen's personal seller account shortly after GameStop's takeover bid surfaced; the ban has since been lifted, but the episode fueled a public feud between the parties. Cohen has publicly challenged the company's $2.4 billion marketing budget, arguing the spending has done little to improve core functionality, and has described eBay as a well-run asset that management has failed to capitalize on.

GameStop proposed acquiring eBay at $125 per share earlier this year, a price representing a 46% premium to eBay's unaffected closing price on Feb. 4, 2026. The bid comprised a mix of cash and GameStop stock, valuing the e-commerce company at roughly $56 billion. eBay's board rejected the offer as "neither credible nor attractive" and declined to enter negotiations. GameStop stock jumped 9% when the bid first became public, reflecting how closely investors tie Cohen's ambitions to GameStop's broader transformation narrative.

With the governance route now closed, attention has shifted to the possibility of a hostile tender offer, an approach that would let Cohen take the bid directly to eBay shareholders and bypass the board's authority entirely. A tender offer would also test how eBay investors respond, independent of the board's recommendation. Whether Cohen moves quickly or waits for better conditions may determine how far the confrontation goes.