Following a meeting involving all three companies, GameStop has acquired Geeknet – the parent company of online geekery-seller ThinkGeek – for $140M, beating out a previously accepted offer from mall staple Hot Topic by $18M.
GameStop is reimbursing the termination fees Geeknet will now pay to Hot Topic.
The ThinkGeek acquisition has obvious benefits for GameStop. Over the last few years, varied game-related merchandise – from key chains to t-shirts – has appeared in the retail chain’s stores with increasing regularity, and many locations now sport entire novelty and clothing sections. As Nathan Ingraham at The Verge notes, adding ThinkGeek’s collection of retro game swag falls in-line with GameStop’s recent decision to trade in classic games and consoles.
ThinkGeek also means more opportunities for franchise licensing. According to GameStop’s internal news release, the acquisition “enchance[s] shareholder value” by using “Geeknet’s proprietary product innovation capabilities and established portfolio of premier, hard-to-secure licenses.” ThinkGeek currently sells merchandise related to a variety of IPs, such as The Legend of Zelda, Minecraft, and Tetris.
