The GameStop offer to acquire eBay has reopened an age-old question in the tech market: what is the value of a company that no longer grows like a startup but still retains millions of users, a global brand, and a hard-to-reproduce position? The interest in eBay coincides with the rise of Bending Spoons, owner of Evernote, WeTransfer, Vimeo, Meetup, Eventbrite, and AOL, and brings to mind other deals that transformed the sector, along with multimillion-dollar acquisitions that never materialized.
The key points of the return of historic tech brands in 30 seconds
- GameStop proposed buying eBay for about $56 billion, although its board rejected the offer.
- Bending Spoons owns longstanding services like Evernote, AOL, Vimeo, WeTransfer, Meetup, and Eventbrite.
- Microsoft acquired LinkedIn, and Salesforce bought Slack to integrate well-established communities into larger platforms.
- Adobe was unable to complete the purchase of Figma, just as NVIDIA with Arm.
- AI reduces costs, but the brand, users, and data remain the true assets.
The idea isn’t necessarily to bring these companies back to their peak popularity. The appeal lies in leveraging something that a newly created platform still lacks: business relationships, active accounts, usage habits, international recognition, and an infrastructure that has already endured years of real-world operation.
Artificial intelligence introduces a new variable. It can accelerate software development, automate support, improve search, customize recommendations, and reduce certain operational tasks. However, it doesn’t automatically turn an aging product into an attractive business. Technology only works as a lever when there’s an active asset behind it, a user base that still finds value, and a management capable of updating the service without destroying what gave it its worth.
From eBay to AOL: buying a community instead of building one
In May 2026, GameStop presented a non-binding offer of $125 per share to acquire eBay, through a combination of cash and GameStop stock. The proposal valued the e-commerce platform at approximately $56 billion and carried a premium of 46% over the reference price used by the buyer.
eBay’s board rejected the offer, considering it neither attractive enough nor backed by clear guarantees of execution. Thus, the proposal was not an agreed sale. GameStop publicly maintained its interest and argued that the union would allow it to apply its experience in used goods, collectibles, and specialized trade to a much larger platform.
The reasoning is straightforward. Building a global alternative to Amazon today would require simultaneously attracting buyers and sellers, resolving payments, reputation, logistics, fraud, and customer service. eBay already has that network, even if its growth doesn’t meet the market’s expectations for a young company.
Bending Spoons applies a similar thesis, albeit with smaller companies and through completed acquisitions. The Italian firm has bought Evernote, Meetup, WeTransfer, Komoot, Vimeo, AOL, and Eventbrite, among others. Some of these were key players at different internet stages but later lost momentum against newer competitors.
Their interest isn’t limited to nostalgia for brands. The prospectus issued at their IPO explains that the company reorganizes acquired businesses, modernizes technology, revises marketing strategies, and seeks to cut costs. Bending Spoons claims it hasn’t sold any of the companies it’s bought, distinguishing itself from typical fund models that pursue medium-term divestments.
The strategy isn’t free from criticism. Some acquisitions have been accompanied by layoffs, price changes, or significant product modifications. Restoring profitability to a historic platform can improve its financials but may also disrupt its relationship with users.
Microsoft, Salesforce, and the acquisitions that preserved their brands
The tech industry has already demonstrated that a veteran company can maintain its identity within a larger group.
Microsoft bought LinkedIn in 2016 for $26.2 billion. The professional network kept its name and continued operating as a distinct service but gained access to Microsoft’s infrastructure, enterprise relationships, and software.
That deal was valuable beyond its application. LinkedIn contributed a global network of professionals, labor information, content, advertising, and recruiting services. Microsoft didn’t have to build that community from scratch; it could integrate it gradually with its productivity and enterprise software business.
Salesforce followed a similar logic when completing the purchase of Slack in 2021. Valued initially at around $27.7 billion, Slack provided a communication platform used by companies and developers, at a time when Salesforce aimed to expand beyond customer relationship management.
Slack retained its brand but became part of a broader collaboration, automation, and enterprise data platform. By 2026, Salesforce presents Slack as a work platform, now including AI assistants integration.
Historical examples show different outcomes. Meta bought Instagram and WhatsApp when both apps already had large communities but were still small compared to Meta itself. Google did the same with YouTube in 2006. In all three cases, the primary value was not acquiring impossible-to-copy technology but rather taking over rapidly growing user networks that are hard to displace.
There are also cases where the brand ended up losing significance. Microsoft acquired Skype for $8.5 billion in 2011, but the app gradually lost prominence to Teams and other messaging services. Yahoo went through multiple sales and reorganizations after rejecting Microsoft’s proposal in 2008. An acquisition can add scale and resources but doesn’t guarantee the product will stay in place.
Adobe and Figma: the deal regulators didn’t let happen
Adobe’s attempt to acquire Figma is one of the clearest recent examples of a major tech deal that didn’t go through.
In September 2022, Adobe announced a roughly $20 billion agreement to buy the collaborative design platform. Figma had gained ground over traditional tools thanks to its browser-based operation and real-time team editing.
The deal would have let Adobe incorporate a main competitor in interface design. However, EU and UK competition authorities raised concerns about potential harm to innovation and reduced alternatives in the market.
Adobe and Figma canceled the deal in December 2023 after concluding there was no clear path to obtaining necessary approvals. Adobe paid a $1 billion breakup fee.
This outcome was significant because it showed that a rising brand can be more valuable as an independent competitor than when integrated into a sector leader. Figma continued growing, expanded its platform with development and AI features, and eventually pursued its own IPO.
This wasn’t an isolated case. NVIDIA’s planned acquisition of Arm, announced initially at $40 billion, was also canceled in 2022 due to regulatory hurdles. Authorities feared NVIDIA could control an architecture used by numerous competing chipmakers.
Microsoft also attempted to buy Yahoo in 2008. The proposal was withdrawn after disagreement over price, which could have drastically changed search and digital advertising landscapes. Years later, Yahoo sold parts of its operations to Verizon for much less.
These failed deals teach that having money isn’t enough. Regulators evaluate whether a buyer could limit competition, favor their products, control an essential technology, or eliminate a rival that could still grow independently.
AI changes costs but doesn’t fix all business models
AI helps explain renewed interest in mature platforms, but don’t attribute the entire trend to it.
A company can use generative models to handle inquiries, moderate content, translate, classify ads, detect fraud, recommend products, or help develop new features. This allows some services to operate with smaller teams and automate tasks that once were costly.
For platforms like eBay, AI can improve listing descriptions, visual search, price estimation, and counterfeit detection. In Evernote, it can summarize documents and find information. Vimeo can generate subtitles, dubbing, and translations.
But buyers aren’t paying only for these capabilities. The same AI tools are available to competitors. What’s hard to replicate is the accumulated distribution over years: registered accounts, sellers, stored files, integrations, well-known domains, and user trust.
Also, cutting costs doesn’t always improve the product. Overly aggressive reorganizations can impair support, slow development, or push users to seek alternatives. Acquiring historic brands works when the new owner balances efficiency and continuity.
The tech market for many years prioritized rapid growth above all. That focus left behind profitable companies or those with valuable assets whose user base could no longer grow as fast as a startup. The current wave of acquisitions suggests some investors now value what a business already owns rather than just its growth rate.
eBay, AOL, Evernote, or Vimeo don’t need to become icons of an era again to justify an acquisition. Their brand, users, and market position can be enough to build a better business than starting from scratch with the same investment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has GameStop already bought eBay?
No. GameStop made a non-binding proposal of about $56 billion, but eBay’s board rejected it. The deal hasn’t been completed.
Which companies has Bending Spoons acquired?
Among its acquisitions are Evernote, Meetup, WeTransfer, Komoot, Vimeo, AOL, and Eventbrite, along with other digital products.
Why did Adobe’s Figma acquisition fail?
Adobe and Figma canceled the deal, citing the lack of a clear regulatory approval path after authorities raised competitive concerns.
Can AI help revive any tech company?
Not necessarily. AI can reduce costs and enhance products, but it doesn’t replace a solid business strategy, an active user base, or a useful value proposition.
