GameStop buys up ThinkGeek, beating out Hot Topic’s offer

GameStop is buying ThinkGeek, the purveyor of nerd culture novelties well known for its April Fools’ stunts, some of which have ended up as crowd-pleasing actual products.

GameStop scooped up Geeknet, the parent company of the ThinkGeek storefront, for $140 million, beating the $122 million offer Geeknet got last week from pop culture retailer Hot Topic. That deal is off, but Hot Topic will be paid a termination fee, coming from GameStop.

A news release from GameStop touted the deal as expanding GameStop’s revenue stream by adding “the No. 1 brand in the fast growing collectibles category.” It also talked up Geeknet’s “established portfolio of premier, hard-to-secure licenses.”

The $140 million deal represents an offer of $20 per outstanding Geeknet share, plus some other considerations; $37 million of the deal is in cash alone.