Saudi fund, Kushner’s firm to buy games maker Electronic Arts in $55bn deal

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Battlefield and Madden NFL developer agrees to merchantability itself successful a woody that would beryllium the largest leveraged buyout successful history.

Published On 30 Sep 2025

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealthiness fund, an concern institution tally by the son-in-law of the United States president, and a California-based backstage equity steadfast person bought gaming manufacture elephantine Electronic Arts (EA) successful the largest leveraged buyout successful past worthy $55bn.

Public Investment Fund (PIF), the $1 trillion Saudi task that is progressively buying stakes successful the global amusement industry, formed a consortium with Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners and exertion and media-focused concern firm, Silver Lake.

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They reached a woody to wage EA shareholders $210 per stock successful cash, a 25 percent premium implicit the banal terms of the institution earlier rumours of the woody circulated past week, and adjacent a premium implicit the all-time precocious banal terms of much than $179 successful mid-August.

EA’s shares jumped by 15 percent connected the archetypal rumours, and person risen astatine slightest different 5 percent since the woody was confirmed connected Monday, to commercialized astatine much than $200 per stock connected Tuesday. The woody takes the institution backstage and is expected to adjacent by the archetypal 4th of the fiscal twelvemonth 2027, meaning astir the outpouring oregon summertime of 2026.

By the deal’s close, EA’s 36-year tally arsenic a publically traded institution volition travel to an end. It volition nary longer person to contented nationalist quarterly reports, and its banal volition beryllium delisted from the NASDAQ.

The woody is to beryllium financed by astir $36bn successful equity from the 3 sponsors, including a 9 percent involvement successful the institution that was already held by the Saudi wealthiness money and is rolled in.

A history-making $20bn is to beryllium provided by JPMorgan Chase successful indebtedness financing underwritten by the banking giant, astir $18bn of which volition money the deal’s closing.

EA said successful a connection that its committee of directors approved the transaction. The woody inactive request to person support from stakeholders, arsenic good arsenic regulatory authorities.

The stakeholders are improbable to crook down the transaction owed to the important currency profits it volition deliver, and the woody is not believed to beryllium facing antitrust issues, dissimilar Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, arsenic it is not a merger of nonstop competitors but a fiscal transportation of ownership.

“I’ve admired their ability to make iconic, lasting experiences, and as someone who grew up playing their games - and present enjoys them with his kids – I couldn’t beryllium more excited astir what’s ahead,” Kushner, who cultivated adjacent ties with Arab leaders during his clip astatine the White House, said astir EA successful a connection aft the deal.

EA makes immense crippled franchises similar Battlefield, Sports FC shot games, and Madden NFL, and owns studios similar Bioware and Maxis that person made elephantine award-winning series, including Mass Effect and The Sims, respectively.

For now, the institution is to proceed with the aforesaid operation and schedule, with CEO Andrew Wilson remaining astatine the helm.

Initial reactions from the gaming assemblage person been mostly negative, with a fig of journalists, streamers, developers and users online expressing a premix of daze and dismay astir the immense effects of the concern determination connected the rising gaming industry.

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