Update:September 29th, 8:30 AM Electronic Arts has officially announced they are going private with a purchase from a consortium of purchases including Affinity Partners, Silver Lake, and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. The deal will be valued at approximately $55 Billion and will be entirely cash. Shareholders will be paid $210 per share.
“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. 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.” - Andrew Wilson, Chairman and CEO of Electronic Arts
The deal will close in fiscal Q1 2027, meaning that it will be between April and June 2026, assuming that it is approved by EA shareholders. It will include $20 Billion of debt financing from JP Morgan Chase, while the rest will be paid from capital that PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, already have (including the shares of EA that the PIF already owns).
“Electronic Arts is an extraordinary company with a world-class management team and a bold vision for the future. I've admired their ability to create iconic, lasting experiences, and as someone who grew up playing their games - and now enjoys them with his kids - I couldn't be more excited about what's ahead,” - Jared Kushner, CEO of Affinity Partners.
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Electronic Arts is reportedly near a deal that would take the company off the stock market and into the land of private companies.
Reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier today, this deal would apparently have a group of investors which includes Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The value would be as much as $50 Billion, and it would be a leveraged buyout, meaning that EA's own assets would serve as collateral for the debt that would be used to make the purchase.
The Public Investment Fund is already one of the biggest shareholders in Electronic Arts, and also own part of Affinity Partners, seemingly placing them as the main power brokers in the ownership structure going forward if the deal goes through, which could be as early as next week.
This follows a period where Electronic Arts has had mixed results from financial perspectives, with under performance of EA Sports FC 25 in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024-2025 fulled by a stronger finish to the fiscal year driven by Split Fiction.
If the deal were to go through, it could mark the largest leveraged buyout in history, and an exceptionally large deal in general. It definitely raises comparisons to the Microsoft purchase of Activision Blizzard, a deal which has had absolutely no problems at all.
The news is emerging as EA is preparing for one of its biggest releases of the year with Battlefield 6, which has been well received by players early on, following a rough previous release in the series. Looming over the deal also is the specter of artificial intelligence and many firms talking about the ability to downsize with making use of generative artificial intelligence, and the fact that leveraged buyouts often are followed by large cost cutting.
