Gaming giant Electronic Arts bought in unprecedented $55bn deal

Digital Arts (EA), one of many largest gaming firms on the earth, has agreed a deal to promote the corporate for $55bn (£41bn).

The consortium of patrons embody Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund (PIF), Silver Lake and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Companions.

EA is understood for making and publishing best-selling video games reminiscent of EA FC, previously referred to as Fifa, The Sims and Mass Impact.

It’s understood to be the most important leveraged buyout in historical past – the place a major quantity of the acquisition is financed by borrowing cash.

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

The acquisition worth places a major 25% premium in the marketplace worth of EA, valuing it at $210 per share.

EA boss Andrew Wilson, who will stay in put up, stated it was a “highly effective recognition” of the agency’s work.

“Along with our companions, we are going to create transformative experiences to encourage generations to return,” 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 possible purchaser to assist degree up for some time,” trade skilled Christopher Dring instructed the BBC.

“However an acquisition from non-public fairness is a shock and there is a whole lot of trade nervousness round this deal.”

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

“The income generated by large video games like EA Sports activities FC, Madden and Battlefield 6 shall be wanted to service this debt, which can impression EA’s capability to spend money on new video games,” he stated.

“Different trade considerations are whether or not this would possibly result in additional cuts at EA, particularly if there’s stress from the non-public firms to ship stronger money stream, once more to serve that debt.”

It’s a huge buy of an organization which has been synonymous with the gaming trade for greater than 40 years.

In that point, EA has been chargeable for among the largest sport sequence in historical past. Its soccer titles, now referred to as EA FC, have offered 325 million copies because the first launch in 1993.

The Sims has offered greater than 200 million copies, and Want For Pace greater than 150 million.

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

The acquisition shall be an enormous gaming feather within the cap of Saudi Arabia, which has been growing its presence within the trade in recent times.

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

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

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

The nation already has stakes in different large gaming corporations reminiscent of Nintendo and Take-Two Interactive, however the EA buy marks a major extension of its attain.

Its PIF has lots of of billions in belongings attributable to 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 accountable” for the dying of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist who was important of the nation’s authorities.

Saudi Arabia has all the time denied this.