Electronic Arts, one of the biggest publishers in the gaming industry, has just been bought by an investment group. Three firms--the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners--will be purchasing EA for a massive $55 billion dollars. This buyout will make EA a private company, with shareholders receiving a 25% bonus payout to their share price. As to how this will affect EA and its gaming divisions going forward, the press release and statements from the investment firms simply state that this move will help EA to expand their worldwide reach and accelerate their innovation and growth within the industry.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) (“EA” or the “Company”), a global leader in interactive entertainment, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an investor consortium (“the Consortium”) comprised of PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners in an all-cash transaction that values EA at an enterprise value of approximately $55 billion. The transaction positions EA to accelerate innovation and growth to build the future of entertainment.

The deal will close sometime in the 2027 fiscal year. Of the $55 billion dollars purchase price, $20 billion will come from debt financing between the three investment groups. This debt could lead to EA cutting even more jobs and limiting what projects the publisher decides to take on, as they pay down the balance over the next few years, according to industry analysists. Electronic Arts' current CEO, Andrew Wilson, will remain with the company after the buyout.

The revenue generated by big games like EA Sports FC, Madden and Battlefield 6 will be needed to service this debt, which may impact EA's ability to invest in new games,

Source

 

[chrisrlink]

i hope they "clean house" tbh ea is so toxic

 

[Kiochi Teh Fox]

Well, It's a leveraged buyout.. If watching Company Man has taught me anything, this will be a death sentence for EA.

 

[Marc_LFD]

EA FC, Madden, NHL (they still make those?) should just be updated digitally than release pointless physical releases since they're the same games with a new roster.

 

[K3Nv4]

Madden Saudi Arabia is going to be wild

 

[NetSanity]

Why haven't I heard any previous news about this?

 

[eyeliner]

Why haven't I heard any previous news about this?

Because these news are kept private to avoid market manipulation.

 

[Reploid]

By ubisoft

 

[Cranesbill]

Cool?

 

[master801]

Why haven't I heard any previous news about this?

It was rumors before.

M

Thread 'EA reportedly going private.'

Sep 26, 2025

Just reported on cnbc that EA is in talks or process of going private from a publicly traded company. Interesting.

• Maximo101
• Replies: 12
• Forum: User Submitted News

• 
• 

 

[HarveyHouston]

Goodbye EA, I guess.

 

[SuffahBish]

Maybe being a private company again they can focus on making good games again instead of maximizing shareholder profit. I mean I know the new owners will want to recoup their investment but it depends on whether they're smart enough to go for stable long term profit or if they're just going to keep wringing customers and releasing low effort slop for maximum short term profit. I still say for gaming studios being privately owned is a massive advantage. Not having to please the leeches on Wall Street. Depends on how smart the new owners are really.

(Hopium)

 

[Marc_LFD]

Why haven't I heard any previous news about this?

EA doesn't have the best reputation as it is so no wonder they wanted to keep it out of the news.

Wonder when it's Ubishit's turn.

 

[GengarsGhostlyGiggles]

saudis are really buying up a lot of enterainment. neato. i'm hopeful after seeing how cool dragonball Z world park looks

 

[Darth Meteos]

A bit about these firms:

1. The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, self-explanatory,
2. Silver Lake, the investment firm that owns sports company Endeavor, as well as investments in companies like Dell, Alibaba, Twitter, Waymo, Klarna, Expedia, and originally owned Skype before selling it to Microsoft
3. Affinity Partners, the investment firm that Jared Kushner runs, yes, that Jared Kushner that's Trump's son-in-law

 

[BlusterBong]

Well i guess we'll be here when the private owners bring lootboxes back with a vengence, we'll be here arguing if a now private company can really do what they want when it's been sworn up and down on the internet that Private companies can do whatever they want.

 

[LightyKD]

i hope they "clean house" tbh ea is so toxic

Good luck with that. Trump's son in law and the Saudis are now in charge

 

[GengarsGhostlyGiggles]

A bit about these firms:

1. The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, self-explanatory,
2. Silver Lake, the investment firm that owns sports company Endeavor, as well as investments in companies like Dell, Alibaba, Twitter, Waymo, Klarna, Expedia, and originally owned Skype before selling it to Microsoft
3. Affinity Partners, the investment firm that Jared Kushner runs, yes, that Jared Kushner that's Trump's son-in-law

Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner ?
So I guess EA is going to re tooled into a videogame sports gambling company.

 

[RAHelllord]

Neat, with any luck EA will be closed before the next decade is over.

Maybe being a private company again they can focus on making good games again instead of maximizing shareholder profit. I mean I know the new owners will want to recoup their investment but it depends on whether they're smart enough to go for stable long term profit or if they're just going to keep wringing customers and releasing low effort slop for maximum short term profit. I still say for gaming studios being privately owned is a massive advantage. Not having to please the leeches on Wall Street. Depends on how smart the new owners are really.

(Hopium)

Those investment firms are the shareholders that turn every public company into garbage, and now they're the sole owners.

 

[linuxares]

By ubisoft

Why? Better wait a bit and they can buy them for cheap when they got bust