GME shareholders both need and deserve direct communication with CEO Ryan Cohen on the proposed dilution for the eBay deal. RC has no obligation to do this and could certainly skip it, but he shouldn’t.
All public companies have some form of institutional support. But there is no other company in the world that has the community support GME has, which has translated in shares bought and owned directly. Community support isn't a one-way street. It needs to be maintained through actual dialogue, especially when the 'ask' is this massive.
A few of my reasons for asking for direct communication on the proposed deal, the dilution and what it means for existing GME shareholders, to which I'm sure a lot can be added:
As it stands the deal will dilute existing shareholders on the assumption that a lot of things will happen in the future and will, in the end, increase the value of our investments. There is no guarantee for this and if we are asked to approve this proposal we need to know more.
On paper, this deal looks significantly better for eBay holders than for GME holders. I get the market cap math, but if you’re asking the people who have backed this company for five years, through massive volatility and previous dilutions, to take another hit, the least you can do is talk to us.
They are adding a huge timeline to us seeing good return on investments, as GMEBAY will take several years to pay off the debt. They are also adding huge debt to our company. We’ve spent years celebrating a "fortress balance sheet" with no debt. This deal flips that. "GMEBAY" adds massive debt and pushes the ROI timeline back by years while that debt is serviced. That is a fundamental change in the investment thesis.
Ultimately, this is about the relationship between a company and its owners. A relationship with no dialogue for the last 5 years. It's time we talk.