Video game maker Electronic Arts has announced that it has been sold for a staggering $55 billion in what is believed to be the largest leveraged buyout in history.
The company said the all-cash sale to a group that includes Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Jared Kushner’s venture capital firm ‘positions EA to accelerate innovation and growth to build the future of entertainment.’
EA is known for best-selling sports games such as its Madden, FIFA (now called EA FC), NBA, NHL and college football franchises – as well as other popular games such as The Sims, Dragon Age and Mass Effect.
The deal will take EA private – with the investment consortium of Saudi Arabia’s PIF, Silver Lake and Kushner’s Affinity Partners purchasing all public shares – so it will no longer be traded on a stock exchange.
Andrew Wilson will remain on board as EA’s CEO after the transaction is completed.
In a Sept. 29 memo to EA staff, Wilson said the deal is ‘in the best interests of our company and our stockholders.’
The deal – the second-most valuable gaming purchase in history behind Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard in 2023 – must still be approved by regulatory agencies and EA stockholders before it can be completed.
EA said approval is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of the 2027 fiscal year.
Note: This story has been updated with additional information.