Author: Stephen Katte, CoinTelegraph; Translated by Deng Tong, Golden Finance

Video game retailer GameStop Corporation (GME) has completed a convertible bond issuance, raising $1.5 billion, with some of the proceeds dedicated to buying Bitcoin.

GameStop said in an April 1 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the issuance initially planned to raise at least $1.3 billion, but buyers chose to purchase additional bonds with a total principal amount of $200 million.

"The company expects to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of Bitcoin in a manner consistent with the company's investment," GameStop added.

Convertible bonds are debts that can be converted to equity later and are scheduled to expire on April 1, 2030 unless converted, redeemed or repurchased in advance.

According to the document, the bond’s conversion rate is initially converted to 33 common shares per $1,000 bond principal.

After the issuance of convertible bonds, GameStop's share price did not fluctuate significantly. GME closed up 1.34% at $22.61 on April 1 trading day, and rose only 0.5% after closing, according to Google Finance data.

After the announcement of the completion of the convertible bond issuance, GameStop's share price has barely changed. Source: Google Finance

The stock rose nearly 12% to $28.36 on March 26, the day after GameStop announced its Bitcoin plan, but its fate reversed the next day, with GME stock falling nearly 24% to $21.68.

Analysts at the time believed that this cold reaction reflected shareholders’ concerns about deeper problems in GameStop’s business model.

On March 25, GameStop confirmed that it has obtained the board of directors' approval to invest in Bitcoin and stablecoins pegged to the US dollar using bonds and cash reserves. According to its fourth quarter 2024 financial statements, those reserves were $4.77 billion as of February 1, compared with $921.7 million in the same period last year.

Among the listed companies that created Bitcoin Treasury bonds, GameStop was relatively late. Many other companies have already added Bitcoin to their balance sheets in accordance with Micheal Saylor's strategy.

This video game retailer has previously entered crypto productsIn the currency field, a crypto wallet was launched for its users, but the wallet was eventually closed in November 2023 due to regulatory uncertainty.

GameStop is also considered the first example of meme stock success, with the stock soaring more than 1,000% in a month after a short squeeze in 2021 as traders reversed the hedge funds that have been shorting the company’s money-making.