Video game retail chain GamesStop confirmed to the BBC on Sunday that it is making a $56bn (£41bn) unsolicited takeover offer for e-commerce firm eBay.

GameStop's chief executive Ryan Cohen told the Wall Street Journal that he sees potential to make eBay a much bigger rival to Amazon, "worth hundreds of billions of dollars".

Cohen said his company has built a stake of around 5% in eBay and that the cash and stock takeover offer would value eBay at $125 a share, around 20% higher than its closing price on Friday.

The BBC has contacted eBay for comment.

Cohen also said that GameStop has a commitment letter from TD Bank to provide around $20bn in debt to help finance the deal.

"There is nobody who is more qualified, based on my experience, to run the eBay business," added Cohen, who is also the co-founder of online pet-products retailer Chewy.

GameStop, which currently has a stock market valuation of around $11.9bn, is expected to make more details of the offer public today.

Shares in eBay jumped by more than 13% in after-hours trading when news of the potential offer emerged on Friday.

GameStop runs more than 2,000 stores worldwide, though many have closed as gamers increasingly shifted towards digital downloads.

Cohen, who became the GameStop boss in 2023, has criticised its slow shift into e-commerce.