GameStop Announces Exec Line-Up, Stock Upgraded

Following the recent stockholder approval of the merger between top North American specialty game retailers GameStop and Electronics Boutique, the company has officially started trading on the New York Stock Exchange under its combined 'GME' stock symbol. Almost immediately, analyst Wedbush Morgan upgraded its rating on the stock from 'Hold' to 'Buy', commenting that the company's price has drifted lower in recent trading, and they expect that, when GameStop provides financial specific for post-merger profit targets, its stock will again rise. Citing a target price of $40, the stock had risen almost 30 cents to $30.97 on much heavier volumes in early trading on Monday. GameStop also clarified its chain of command, which is largely unchanged, due to the GameStop-led merger action, and has Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel A. DeMatteo as Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer, Joe DePinto as President and David W. Carlson as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. However, there will be some higher-level EB representation in the new GameStop, since formally joining the GameStop Corp. Board of Directors will be James J. Kim, the founder of Electronics Boutique, as well as former EB Director Stanley ("Mickey") Steinberg, and two other senior business executives, Jerome L. Davis and Larry S. Zilavy. "Merging Electronics Boutique with GameStop immediately creates a specialty retailer with unsurpassed capabilities," indicated Fontaine, "Combining our best practices within a streamlined organizational structure will not only serve our customers better, but will make us a more efficient and productive high-growth company." The combined company operates over 4,200 retail stores, largely in the United States, but also in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Puerto Rico, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In addition, GameStop owns the GameStop.com and ebgames.com retail websites, and the top-selling U.S. video game magazine, Game Informer.