GameStop’s $56 Billion eBay Tilt Has Nasty Terms: Chris Hughes

GameStop Corp.’s $56 billion takeover approach for online auctioneer eBay Inc. was blatantly far-fetched on first look. Wait till you get into the fine print.

EBay delivered its expected rejection of the meme stock’s audacious proposal this week. To buttress its skepticism, the tech company’s board released a letter from GameStop lender TD Securities voicing confidence in raising $20 billion of debt for the mooted offer. This confirmed reports that TD’s optimism depends on the combination commanding an investment-grade credit rating.

Dwelling on such details may seem to miss the wood for the trees. GameStop was worth $12 billion prior ...