Cramer Grills eBay CEO On M&A, Suggests StockX Acquisition: 'The World's Your Oyster'

Jim Cramer asked eBay Inc EBAY President and CEO Jamie Iannone about the possibility of acquiring StockX, the Detroit-based secondary market for sneakers and other items, during a "Squawk on the Street" segment on Wednesday.

Cramer, who called StockX “one of the most exciting sites there is,” asked Iannone if eBay could “make a bid and get the mojo back by the end of the day?”

'Untapped Potential' For eBay: In an apparent reference to StockX, Iannone said "vertical and niche competitors" represent "untapped potential" for the eBay platform.

The CEO said his multiyear goal is to make sure "these transactions happen on eBay."

Cramer pushed further and said eBay doesn’t have the growth investors want despite having the capital, and asked Iannone why eBay doesn’t become the “one-stop shop.” The CNBC host also suggested RealReal Inc REAL as another possible acquisition target for eBay. 

"The world's your oyster here," Cramer said.

Iannone said that eBay had been chasing what was in season in recent years and that its focus is now on its core.

The CEO did say eBay "will opportunistically look at M&A," but added that its priority is work on the overall eBay platform.

More About StockX: StockX has exploded in recent years, reaching unicorn status and topping a $1-billion valuation in 2019. The company recently said its site activity is up 50% from last year and has surpassed $2.5 billion in sales on over 10 million transactions.

Known for its shoe vertical, StockX has expanded into watches, handbags and baseball cards.

Benzinga's Take: eBay has in the past acquired other resale verticals, most notably StubHub in 2007 for $310 million.

In 2019, StubHub was sold by eBay to Viagogo for $4.05 billion. StockX CEO Scott Cutler is the former president of StubHub and former senior vice president for the Americas at eBay.

The online auction site would be one of the few companies with the experience in e-marketplaces and capital to bid on StockX.

Cutler has publicly said that StockX's goal is to go public.