US EditionHow Electronic Arts’ $55 Billion Go-Private Deal Could Impact the Video Game Industry
The $55 billion leveraged buyout offers EA shareholders a 25% premium and could grant EA more freedom in game development, led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners.
- On Monday, Electronic Arts agreed to be taken private in a roughly $55 billion deal led by Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Affinity Partners, delisting from Nasdaq.
- The Public Investment Fund, which already owns about a 9.9% stake in EA, is rolling that holding into the deal as part of its gaming diversification efforts, including the 2021 Savvy Games Group initiative.
- The acquisition will be financed via roughly $36 billion in equity and $20 billion in debt led by JPMorgan Chase, with EA shareholders paid $210 per share in cash, a 25% premium to recent trading price.
- Regulatory and shareholder approvals are required, including Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States review, and the deal is expected to close in fiscal Q1 2027, pending conditions.
- Analysts are skeptical about a buyout just before Battlefield 6’s October 10 launch, lawmakers cited national security concerns over Saudi investments, and EA faced live-service gaming and monetization criticisms.
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35 Articles
On Monday, it was announced that the video game editor Electronic Arts passed into the hands of a group of investors led by a Saudi investment fund and participated in by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, for almost 47 billion euros. EA, as is known, is the editor of the world’s largest football game franchise (which, after the loss of FIFA’s license, is now trying to make itself known by another name) and other video games such as Battl…
Saudi Arabia's All-Consuming Maw Devours Electronic Arts
Well, they found a way to make Electronic Arts an even shittier company. In an move notable for its size, though certainly not its content, a group of investors—including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner's firm Affinity Partners—have purchased EA for $55 billion. It's the second-biggest acquisition in video game history, after Microsoft's $68.7 billion absorption of Activision Blizzard, bu…
The US computer game company Electronic Arts - EA for short - is acquired for 55 billion dollars. An agreement has been made, the company announced. Buyers are the Saudi State Fund PIF, the investment company Affinity Partners of the son-in-law of US President Trump, Jared Kushner, and the investment company Silver Lake Partners.
Silver Lake mounts comeback with TikTok, EA deals
The NewsSilver Lake is back. With its $13 billion Endeavor deal now firmly closed, the private-equity firm has recaptured its knack for popping up in interesting times. It’s helping to take Electronic Arts private in a blockbuster (if not quite record-setting) deal and is part of the investor group seeking control of TikTok. This spring, it bought control of an Intel unit for $9 billion, giving it an early seat at the table to one of the most fa…
The Mercury news
KCRGHow Electronic Arts’ $55 billion go-private deal could impact the video game industry
By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — In what could become the largest-ever buyout funded by private equity, video game maker Electronic Arts has agreed to be acquired in a deal valued at $55 billion. Beyond the potentially record-breaking price tag, the deal could bring wider shifts in the gaming world. Electronic Arts (EA) owns popular titles like Madden NFL, Battlefield and The Sims — and going private could potentially…
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