In the largest leveraged buyout in history, a powerhouse consortium including Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners has agreed to acquire gaming behemoth Electronic Arts for a staggering $55 billion (R950 billion). The deal, which pays a 25% premium to shareholders, dwarfs the previous record set in 2007 and signals massive confidence in the gaming industry’s future.
For EA, the maker of EA Sports FC and The Sims, going private offers refuge from the pressures of quarterly earnings as the industry faces a post-pandemic slowdown. The move is fueled by a massive $36 billion equity investment from the consortium, with PIF rolling over its existing stake, and $20 billion in debt financing from JPMorgan. This historic transaction underscores Wall Street’s appetite for transformative deals and positions the new owners to leverage EA’s iconic sports and shooter franchises for long-term growth.
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