The deal has announced itself in the past few days and is now official: Electronic Arts (EA), one of the largest game publisher, is completely adopted by a consortium led by the Saudi Arabian State Fund PIF. The investors pay $ 55 billion.
EA makes the sale officially, graduation up to Q1/27
EA has confirmed today that the takeover was approved by an investor group from the public investment fund (PIF) from Saudi Arabia and the investment companies Silver Lake and Affinity Partners. A total of around $ 55 billion is to flow, with EA passing on to private property again with the sale, i.e. will no longer be listed. It is the largest such deal in history so far, because a company previously listed before has never been taken over by private investors for so much money.
In the course of the sale, EA is taken over 100 percent by the group of investors. So far, the Saudi Arabic PIF has already held 9.9 percent of the shares in EA. EA shareholders receive $ 210 for each share, which exceeds the last status of the share price of $ 168.32 on September 25 by 25 percent. Before the takeover by the investor group around the Saudi Arabian state fund can be completed, the regulatory authorities of various countries must still agree.
The takeover is to be completed by the 1st quarter of 2027. The company remains at the head of Redwood City in the US state of California. The previous CEO Andrew Wilson should continue to hold this post. In a statement, Wilson explained the following (machine translation):
“Our creative and passionate teams at EA have given hundreds of millions of fans extraordinary experiences, built some of the world’s best known brands and created significant added value for our company. This moment is an impressive recognition of your remarkable work. With a view to the future, we will continue to expand the limits of entertainment, sport and technology. Together with our partners, we will create transformative experiences that will inspire the upcoming generations. I’m more enthusiastic than ever about the future we shape. ” Andrew Wilson, Chairman & CEO from EA
There are some politically interesting details in the takeover by the PIF, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners. The PIF is also involved in the latter company, whereby Jared Kushner’s company is managed, the son-in-law of the current US President Donald Trump. The PIF is also an investor of various other game companies, including Nintendo, Take-Two Interactive and Capcom.
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