Gaming large Electronic Arts purchased in unprecedented $55bn deal

Electronic Arts (EA), one of many largest gaming corporations on this planet, has agreed a deal to promote the corporate for $55bn (£41bn).

The consortium of consumers embody Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners.

EA is thought for making and publishing best-selling video games similar to EA FC, previously often known as Fifa, The Sims and Mass Effect.

It is known to be the most important leveraged buyout in historical past – the place a big quantity of the acquisition is financed by borrowing cash.

The deal will take EA non-public – which means all of its public shares will likely be bought and it’ll now not be traded on a inventory alternate.

The buy value places a big 25% premium available on the market worth of EA, valuing it at $210 per share.

It is the second most precious gaming buy in historical past, following Microsoft’s $69bn deal to purchase Call of Duty writer Activision Blizzard – which went by after important battles with international regulators, with the UK involved it could harm competitors.

In the top, the deal was solely accepted after Microsoft handed the rights to distribute the agency’s video games on consoles and PCs over the cloud to Assassin’s Creed-maker Ubisoft.

EA boss Andrew Wilson, who will stay in publish, stated it was a “powerful recognition” of the agency’s work.

“Together with our partners, we will create transformative experiences to inspire generations to come,” he stated.

The corporations shopping for EA will contribute roughly $36bn, with the remaining quantity being financed by loans.

“EA has been open to a potential buyer to help level up for a while,” business knowledgeable Christopher Dring instructed the BBC.

“But an acquisition from private equity is a surprise and there’s a lot of industry anxiety around this deal.”

He stated there have been issues that the deal would end in $20bn of debt – which might have to be paid again.

“The revenue generated by big games like EA Sports FC, Madden and Battlefield 6 will be needed to service this debt, which may impact EA’s ability to invest in new games,” he stated.

“Other industry concerns are whether this might lead to further cuts at EA, especially if there’s pressure from the private companies to deliver stronger cash flow, again to serve that debt.”

It is a large buy of an organization which has been synonymous with the gaming business for greater than 40 years.

In that point, EA has been chargeable for a few of the largest recreation sequence in historical past. Its soccer titles, now often known as EA FC, have offered 325 million copies for the reason that first launch in 1993.

The Sims has offered greater than 200 million copies, and Need For Speed greater than 150 million.

But it has additionally been the writer of many different fashionable titles – typically being the associate of selection for video games within the Harry Potter and James Bond sequence prior to now.

The buy will likely be an enormous gaming feather within the cap of Saudi Arabia, which has been rising its presence within the business lately.

In March 2025, the nation’s funding fund paid $3.5bn to buy the gaming division of Niantic – giving it management of the hit cellular recreation Pokémon Go.

The buy turned a part of Scopely Inc – makers of Monopoly Go – which itself was purchased by PIF subsidiary Savvy Games Group for $4.9bn in 2023.

Saudi Arabia has made waves within the eSports business, internet hosting main tournaments together with the eSports World Cup, and it’ll additionally host 2027’s deliberate Olympic esports Games.

The nation already has stakes in different huge gaming corporations similar to Nintendo and Take-Two Interactive, however the EA buy marks a big extension of its attain.

Its PIF has tons of of billions in property resulting from its oil wealth, and it’s managed by the nation’s prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose authorities has been accused of human rights violations.

A 2019 UN report said “the state of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is responsible” for the loss of life of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist who was vital of the nation’s authorities.

Saudi Arabia has at all times denied this.