Electronic Arts to be acquired for $52B in largest private equity buyout

7 hours ago

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Electronic Arts (EA) is being acquired for $52.5 billion by Silver Lake Partners, Saudi Arabia’s PIF, and Affinity Partners.
The deal, if approved, will be the largest-ever private-equity buyout, surpassing the $32 billion TXU deal in 2007.
PIF, already EA’s largest insider stakeholder with a 9.9% stake, will roll over its existing shares.
EA will go private, ending its 36-year history as a publicly traded company, with headquarters remaining in Redwood City, CA.
CEO Andrew Wilson will continue leading EA post-acquisition.
The acquisition aligns with Saudi PIF’s aggressive expansion in gaming, including previous stakes in ESL, FACEIT, and Scopely.
EA’s revenues have stagnated at $7.4–$7.6 billion annually, facing competition from Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision Blizzard buyout and mobile gaming rivals like Epic Games.
Post-acquisition, EA may restructure operations without public market pressures, though layoffs are not confirmed after recent workforce reductions.
The deal is expected to close in Q1 2027, pending shareholder approval.
EA’s stock rose over 5% pre-market following the announcement.

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