Video game maker Electronic Arts is set to be acquired in a $55 billion deal that would be the largest ever private equity buyout.
A coalition of investors that include Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, a firm managed by Jared Kushner and equity group Silver Lake Partners are planning to take the company private in a deal that will give EA's current shareholders $210 per share.
EA is known for developing and publishing video games including the "Madden NFL" and "Battlefield" franchises. It has been a public company for the last 36 years.
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund already holds 9.9% of EA's shares. It also invests in Nintendo.
“The Saudi PIF has been a very active player in the video gaming market since 2022, taking minority stakes in most scaled public video gaming publishers, and also outright purchases of companies," Raymond James analyst Andrew Marok wrote. “The PIF has made its intentions to scale its gaming arm, Savvy Gaming Group, clear, and the EA deal would represent the biggest such move to date by some distance.”
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Any deal is subject to approval by the U.S. Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment.
Jade Kushner is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. Trump's family business has previously cooperated with Saudi interests, including while he served as president during his second term.
LIV Golf, a professional tour funded by the PIF, has held events at Trump's golf courses every year since its first season in 2022.
When asked by the Associated Press, the Committee on Foreign Investment did not immediately comment on potential conflicts of interest related to the EA deal.
