Video game and electronics retailer GameStop Corp is holding talks with private equity firms about a potential transaction after receiving buyout interest, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
Like most brick-and-mortar retailers, GameStop has suffered from heightened competition from online companies including Amazon Inc. Games retailers have also had to cope with a decline in physical video game sales, although GameStop has partly weathered these declines by expanding into used video games and devices as well as digital products.
Shares of the Grapevine, Texas-based company rose as much as 11 percent to $15.50 on Monday on news of the interest, having been up 2.5 percent earlier in the day. The stock was up 9 percent in late afternoon.
The company has hired a financial adviser to assist in these discussions, said the people, who asked not to be named because the matter is private.
Sycamore Partners is one of the private equity firms that has expressed interest in GameStop, one of the people said.