After a few days of rumblings within the industry, major game publisher Electronic Arts (EA) has officially announced that it’s being acquired for $55 billion. The deal, which ranks as the largest ever leveraged buyout according to Variety, involves a group of investors including private-equity firm Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners. The final figure is even bigger than earlier reports, which valued the deal around $50 billion based on EA’s current market value.
EA is best known for sports games like Madden, FC (rebranded from FIFA), and Skate. It will also release Battlefield 6 early next month. Despite its new ownership, some things will remain the same. The company will still be headquartered in California, with current CEO Andrew Wilson retaining his post. “Our creative and passionate teams at EA have delivered extraordinary experiences for hundreds of millions of fans, built some of the world’s most iconic IP, and created significant value for our business. This moment is a powerful recognition of their remarkable work,” Wilson said in a statement, per Variety. “Looking ahead, we will continue to push the boundaries of entertainment, sports, and technology, unlocking new opportunities. Together with our partners, we will create transformative experiences to inspire generations to come. I am more energized than ever about the future we are building.”
The deal is expected to close by June 2026 (the end of the first quarter of EA’s fiscal year), pending approval from all the usual regulatory bodies. EA and its consortium of investors likely won’t have to jump through the same sort of hoops as, say, Paramount and Skydance, however. As our colleagues at Endless Mode point out, Donald Trump has ties with both Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners (Kushner is his son-in-law) and the Saudi government, which has been pushing further into both the gaming and sports industries in recent years. The deal will be funded by a combination of capital from each of the investors, as well as a roll-over of the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s prior stake in the company.
