GameStop just asked shareholders to let it print a lot more stock. The company filed a preliminary proxy statement on May 11 proposing to increase its authorized Class A common shares from roughly 1 billion to 2.5 billion, a move explicitly tied to its ongoing pursuit of eBay.
As of May 2, GameStop had 448,650,736 shares outstanding. That means the company currently has plenty of room under its existing authorization, but apparently not enough for what it has planned next.
The eBay connection
GameStop isn’t being coy about why it wants more shares. The proxy filing directly references strategic transactions, with eBay named as an example.
GameStop has been steadily accumulating eBay stock, building its position to approximately 6.55% as of May 20. This comes after a previous takeover bid that eBay rejected.
