05/05/2026

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | MAY 5, 2026

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GameStop makes bold US$56b play for eBay

LONDON: Borrowing costs across the eurozone nudged up yesterday, with markets wary that the European Central Bank could soon hike rates to contain inflation even as oil prices nudged down from recent highs. Overall trading conditions were thin with UK markets closed for a public holiday. Germany’s benchmark 10-year Bund yield was around 2 basis points (bps) higher at 3.05%, while Italian peers rose about the same amount to 3.88%. Rate-sensitive two-year bond yields were up around 2 bps across the bloc . While oil prices were holding below last week’s four year peaks, they remain above US$100 per barrel and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed due to the US-Israeli war with Iran – prolonging the impact of a global energy shock. Money markets price a roughly 80% chance of a quarter-point hike at the ECB’s June meeting and fully price in at least two rate increases this year. With markets across the euro area closed on Friday for the May Day holiday, analysts said traders were reacting to ECB commentary since Thursday’s decision to leave rates unchanged. The ECB may need to tighten policy, perhaps as soon as June, policymakers said on Friday, warning that the inflation outlook is deteriorating and the risk is rising that high price growth gets entrenched. The central bank on Thursday debated hiking rates and signalled, in both on- and off-the-record comments, that higher rates would remain on the agenda as it fears an energy-induced inflation spike could persist beyond a one-off impact. “ECB sources suggested almost a tightening bias and possibly a couple of rate hikes if there is no relief on energy prices,“ said Commerzbank rates strategist Rainer Guntermann. “However, new tariff threats for European carmakers are likely to weigh on risk sentiment and growth prospects, thereby complicating the ECB’s potential response in June.” US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would increase tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union to 25% this week from the previously agreed 15%, saying the bloc had not complied with its trade deal with Washington. On Monday, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said he expected the inflation rate to return to 2% in 2027-2028 after a spike this year triggered by higher energy prices. – Reuters Eurozone government bond yields rise

up financial commitments, including a commitment letter for about US$20 billion in debt from TD Securities, a subsidiary of TD Bank. GameStop had about US$9.4 billion in cash and liquid investments as of Jan 31, Cohen said in his letter, and added that the cash component of the deal would be funded from that and third-party equity and debt financing. He may also seek backing from external investors including Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds for the deal, according to the WSJ report. Cohen said that following the close, he would serve as the CEO of the combined company. Cohen joined GameStop’s board in January 2021 as the company struggled with a shift to online shopping and digital downloads, and later became CEO, pushing aggressive cost cuts that helped return the company to profitability. Once a staple for in-store gamers, the brick-and-mortar retailer was hit hard during the pandemic when players moved online. GameStop soared to global prominence in 2021 when an army of retail investors bought the stock after it was squeezed by hedge fund short sellers. Its shares soared more than 1,700% at the time. Despite Cohen’s turnaround pledges, the Texas-based firm continues to grapple with structural shifts in the gaming industry. GameStop reported a 14% drop in fourth-quarter revenue last month. – Reuters “While output is increasing on paper, the real impact on physical supply remains very limited given the Strait of Hormuz constraints,“ Leon said. “This is less about adding barrels and more about signalling that Opec+ still calls the shots.” The Strait of Hormuz blockade is hitting Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The latter’s production will no longer count towards Opec quotas. “Total Opec+ output with quota fell to 27.68 million bpd in March, against a monthly quota of 36.73 million bpd, a shortfall of approximately 9 million bpd driven almost entirely by war-related disruption rather than voluntary restraint,“ said Priya Walia, another analyst at Rystad Energy, ahead of Sunday’s meeting. Iran, whose exports are now the target of a retaliatory US blockade, is an Opec+ member but is not subject to quotas. Russia, the group’s second-biggest producer, has been the main beneficiary of the situation. But despite soaring energy prices, it appears to be struggling to produce at the level of its current quotas as its own war in Ukraine drags on and Ukrainian drones hit oil industry facilities. Amena Bakr, an analyst at Kpler, described the UAE’s exist as“a big deal” for Opec. Previous withdrawals from the group by Qatar in 2019 and Angola in 2023 were less significant by comparison, Bakr told a video conference on the UAE withdrawal. The UAE has invested massively in infrastructure in recent years, and state-owned oil company Adnoc plans to increase output by five million barrels a day by 2027 – far above the country’s last quota of around 3.5 million barrels. – AFP

and live commerce, he added. He told the WSJ he was prepared to pursue a proxy fight if eBay’s board was not receptive to the proposal. Ebay did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on GameStop’s offer. “Ebay should be worth – and will be worth – a lot more money,” Cohen said in the interview. “I’m thinking about turning eBay into something worth hundreds of billions of dollars.” Cohen, dubbed the “meme king” by retail traders for his role in the 2021 meme-stock frenzy and his outsized influence among individual investors on social media, has built a reputation for bold, unconventional bets that can move markets. A potential deal between GameStop and eBay would upend the usual M&A playbook, as it is rare for a company to target one nearly four times its size. Such deals typically rely on substantial debt, stock issuance, or both – banking on future earnings of the combined firm to justify the cost. Cohen said he has already lined But raising the quota on paper may not have much impact on actual production, which is already short of the limit. Untapped Opec+ reserves are mainly located in the Gulf region, and exports there are trapped by the blockade of the vital Strait of Hormuz, imposed by Iran in response to the US-Israeli strikes that started the war on Feb 28. Leon, the Rystad Energy analyst, told AFP on Sunday that the cartel was looking to send “a two-layer message” that the UAE’s exit would not disrupt how Opec+ operates and that the group still exerts control over global oil markets despite massive disruption to oil trade due to the war.

o Videogame retailer may pursue proxy fight if board rejects, WSJ reports

NEW YORK: GameStop proposed on Sunday to buy eBay Inc for about US$56 billion (RM221 billion) in a cash-and-stock deal, with CEO Ryan Cohen saying he was prepared to take the bid directly to shareholders should eBay’s board be unreceptive. GameStop – once a stock market minnow that shot to fame during a meme-stock frenzy five years ago – is offering to pay US$125 a share in a 50-50 mix of cash and stock, Cohen said in a letter to eBay’s board. Based on eBay’s Friday close, the bid represents a premium of 20%. Ebay has a market capitalisation nearly four times larger than GameStop, making the buyout bid an ambitious attempt. The US videogame retailer has already built up a 5% stake in eBay through shares and derivatives, Cohen said in the letter, which was seen by Reuters. VIENNA: Saudi Arabia, Russia and five other Opec+ countries increased their oil production quota on Sunday in an expected move aimed at demonstrating continuity at the cartel after the shock withdrawal of the United Arab Emirates. The seven major producers will add 188,000 barrels per day to their total production quota for June amid the price pressure unleashed by the Mideast war, as part of “their collective commitment to support oil market stability”, according to a statement published by Opec+. The statement, following an online meeting of Algeria, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Oman, Russia and Saudi Arabia, made no mention of the

Its unsolicited offer to buy the US online marketplace was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, citing an interview with CEO Cohen, also GameStop’s largest investor. Cohen, who is pushing to boost the struggling videogame retailer’s market value more than tenfold, told WSJ that putting eBay and GameStop under one roof would create huge opportunities to improve earnings and cut costs. “It could be a legit competitor to Amazon,” Cohen said about eBay to the Journa l. Cohen said in the letter that GameStop would cut US$2 billion of eBay’s annualised costs within 12 months of close, resulting in an increase in the company’s earnings per share. GameStop’s 1,600 US locations would give eBay a national network for authentication, intake, fulfillment, United Arab Emirates, which quit the body on Friday, three days after announcing its withdrawal. Rystad Energy analyst Jorge Leon told AFP that the silence on the UAE’s departure was a sign of tense relations. Oil market analysts had widely expected the increase of 188,000 barrels, similar to the 206,000-barrel daily increases Opec+ announced in both March and April when the portion allotted to the UAE was subtracted. “By sticking to the same production path – just minus the UAE – it’s acting as if nothing has happened, deliberately downplaying internal fractures and projecting stability,“ Leon said.

Opec+ hikes oil production quotas

Ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Musandam, Oman. – REUTERSPIC