GameStop Pockets Record $2.1-B From Share Sale

GameStop hit the jackpot. Roaring Kitty’s favorite meme stock raised a record $2.1 billion in gross cash—even adjusted for inflation, exceeding the amount it raised in two separate share sales in 2021 combined, Christiaan Hetzner reported for Fortune.

GameStop has 38-year-old social media trader Keith Gill to thank for it.

GameStop has 38-year-old social media trader Keith Gill to thank for it.

In anticipation of a looming short squeeze triggered by last week’s definitive return of Roaring Kitty, a soaring stock price gave the company a perfect opportunity to unload 75 million shares at an average price of $28.50 each on a market desperate to get their hands on more.

While it may have ruined Gill's bid to become the first person to become a billionaire on paper during a livestream, it’s a life preserver for the struggling brick-and-mortar games retailer.

Due to the terms of the offering, the loss-making company enjoys widespread discretion to use the company’s windfall gain however it sees fit—no strings attached.

It was a second major victory for chairman and CEO Ryan Cohen after a court dismissed an unrelated lawsuit hanging over the activist investor’s head.

“GameStop intends to use the net proceeds...for general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions and investments,” the company said in a statement, a common boilerplate phrase that grants management broad scope.