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In the largest private equity-backed acquisition in history, gaming giant Electronic Arts (EA) will be taken private in a $52.5 billion deal orchestrated by investment powerhouses Silver Lake Partners, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners. The transaction values EA at $210 per share and ends its 36-year run as a public company founded by Apple alum Trip Hawkins in 1982.

The Acquisition Architecture

  • PIF, already EA's largest shareholder with a 9.9% stake, will roll over its existing position into the new ownership structure
  • Silver Lake brings gaming deal expertise from previous takeovers of Skype and Dell
  • Affinity Partners marks Kushner's second major tech involvement following the TikTok-Oracle deal

The move aligns with Saudi Arabia's aggressive gaming expansion through its Savvy Gaming Group, which acquired ESL/FACEIT and Scopely. As Raymond James analyst Andrew Marok notes:

"The PIF has made its intentions to scale its gaming arm clear, and the EA deal would represent the biggest such move by some distance."

Private Playbook Advantages

Going private liberates EA from quarterly earnings pressure—critical as revenues stagnated near $7.4-$7.6 billion annually despite fervent fanbases. CEO Andrew Wilson will remain at the helm, with headquarters staying in Redwood City. The transition enables strategic restructuring without public market scrutiny, though recent layoffs (5% of workforce in 2024) hint at pre-deal optimization.

Industry Consolidation Context

This seismic transaction follows Microsoft's $69 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition, underscoring gaming's valuation surge. Yet EA faces intensifying competition from mobile-first studios like Epic Games. The deal is expected to close in Q1 2027 pending shareholder approval.

As private capital reshapes gaming's power structure, the industry watches whether EA's creative independence will thrive—or succumb to investor demands—in its post-public era.

Source: Associated Press