GameStop Stock Falls as Firm Plans $1.75 Billion Raise After Bitcoin Buy

Video game retailer GameStop said on Wednesday that it plans to offer $1.75 billion worth of convertible senior notes to investors, according to a company press release.

The notes, which are not expected to bear interest, will mature in 2032, the company said, adding that the offering’s conversion price will be determined at a later date. Convertible notes allow a buyer to convert the debt into common stock under certain conditions.

Although GameStop purchased 4,710 Bitcoin last month, the company did not explicitly say in the blog post whether the funds would go toward stockpiling the largest cryptocurrency by market value, or potentially other cryptocurrencies that it’s had on its balance sheet before.

Instead, the company said the funds will go toward ”general corporate purposes, including making investments in a manner consistent with GameStop’s investment policy and potential acquisitions.” GameStop said in March that it had updated its investment policy to permit Bitcoin’s use “as a Treasury Reserve Asset.”

GameStop’s stock price fell 10% during after hours trading, dropping to $25.64, according to Yahoo Finance. Since the company signaled that it plans to buy Bitcoin on March 26, the company’s shares have fallen 9.5% from $28.36.

GameStop completed its initial offering of convertible senior notes in early April, a $1.5 billion offering that left GameStop with $1.48 billion in net proceeds, less discounts for the initial purchaser and company expenses.

The company said that it purchased its Bitcoin stash between May 3 and June 10, but it did not specify an average purchase price or detail how much it spent overall. At the time of the announcement, 4,710 Bitcoin was worth $512 million, suggesting that the firm did not spend all the money that it raised on Bitcoin.

Per its latest earnings report in March, Texas-based GameStop held $4.7 billion in cash and cash equivalents. That was up significantly from $921 million a year prior.

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen hinted at a potential Bitcoin purchase in February, when he posed for a photo that he shared to X with Strategy Executive Chairman and co-founder Michael Saylor.

Strategy is the largest corporate Bitcoin treasury firm with over $63 billion worth of BTC, which it began buying in 2020, and Saylor is an outspoken Bitcoin bull.

Edited by Andrew Hayward