GameStop Corp. said it has stopped an effort to sell itself, citing a lack of available financing at terms a buyer would find acceptable. The shares tanked 22 percent in early U.S. trading.
The retailer started a strategic review in June and sold its Spring Mobile business as part of that process. GameStop said it is continuing its search for a permanent chief executive officer.
It’s another disappointment for investors who hoped for a sale as a way out. GameStop, the world’s largest independent video-game retailer, has been struggling to insulate itself from shrinking brick-and-mortar sales of games like Call of Duty. With physical video games out of vogue in the digital age, there weren’t a lot of strategic merger partners left for the company. That left private equity firms as the most obvious bidders -- Apollo and Sycamore Partners had been cited by the Wall Street Journal as potential acquirers. The shares had already tumbled Monday on news that Apple Inc. plans to launch a subscription video-game service, indicating that competition is only intensifying for the beleaguered retailer.
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