EA Has Officially Been Sold: Saudi-Led Consortium Completes Historic $55 Billion Buyout

Electronic Arts, one of the world’s most iconic video game publishers, has officially changed hands in what stands as the largest leveraged buyout in commercial history. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), alongside Jared Kushner’s private equity firm Affinity Partners and investment company Silver Lake, has completed the acquisition of the gaming giant for approximately $55 billion. The deal, first announced in September 2025, finally closed on August 4 after receiving regulatory approval from European authorities in July. EA stockholders received $210 per share, representing a 25% premium over the company’s stock price before the acquisition was announced. With the transaction complete, Electronic Arts has been removed from public stock exchanges, marking the end of an era for one of gaming’s most prominent publicly traded companies.

Consortium Structure and Leadership Changes

The acquisition brings together a powerful consortium of investors with diverse backgrounds and strategic interests. The PIF, which previously held a 9.9% stake in EA, has rolled that investment into this larger deal. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund has been aggressively expanding its entertainment portfolio, having already acquired mobile gaming powerhouse Scopely, the company behind the phenomenally successful Monopoly Go, as well as Niantic’s gaming division, which includes the globally popular Pokemon Go. Silver Lake, a technology-focused private equity firm, brings considerable experience in the gaming sector through its co-CEO Egon Durban, who previously served on the board of directors at Unity, the game engine company used by countless developers worldwide.

EA CEO Andrew Wilson will remain at the helm of the company, though industry observers are closely watching to see how long he may stay in the role. Wilson has led EA since 2013, overseeing a period of substantial growth that saw the company’s stock price rise from approximately $27 to the $210 buyout price. His compensation has grown commensurately, with recent filings revealing total compensation of $38 million in the previous fiscal year. However, this same period also saw significant workforce reductions, including layoffs affecting developers who worked on the successful Battlefield 6 franchise.

Developer Anxiety Over Studio Futures

The leveraged buyout structure has prompted widespread concern about the future of EA’s studios and workforce. Leveraged buyouts typically involve the acquiring company taking on significant debt, which often leads to aggressive cost-cutting measures to service that debt. Industry analyst Piers Harding-Rolls of Ampere Analysis has suggested that EA may need to “cut excess spending and rationalize the company’s workforce” to address the financial obligations. A report from the Financial Times indicated that EA might accelerate its adoption of AI tools and technologies to reduce development costs, a strategy the company had already been pursuing along with other major publishers.

Mat Piscatella of market research firm Circana offered a sobering historical perspective, noting that “leveraged buyouts have a certain history that generally hasn’t been great for the acquired companies.” This pattern has played out across various industries, where debt-laden acquisitions have led to asset sales, workforce reductions, and sometimes the dismantling of once-thriving enterprises. The gaming industry has its own history of studio closures following corporate acquisitions, making developers particularly anxious about their futures.

Developers at BioWare, EA’s acclaimed RPG studio responsible for franchises like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, have expressed particular concern about their prospects under new ownership. BioWare has built a reputation for creating games featuring diverse characters and inclusive storytelling, elements that some fear might conflict with the values of PIF’s Saudi Arabian leadership. Patrick Weekes, a longtime BioWare writer who was laid off in 2025, speculated that the new owners might want to avoid content they consider politically objectionable. Similarly, developers working on The Sims franchise, which has been celebrated for its inclusive character creation options, have voiced ongoing concerns about creative freedom under the new regime. The anxiety has even spilled into public protests, with cosplayers staging a demonstration at EA’s California headquarters to oppose the deal.

Final Quarterly Results Before Delisting

EA’s final earnings report as a public company, released on August 3, painted a picture of a company in reasonably strong financial health. The April-June quarter showed gains in both revenue and profit, with net bookings of $1.35 billion representing a $51 million increase year-over-year. The company attributed much of this growth to increased sales of additional content for the popular battle royale game Apex Legends, as well as strong performance from full game sales and microtransactions associated with Battlefield 6. However, these gains were partially offset by lower sales compared to the previous year, when Split Fiction, a cooperative adventure game from the creators of It Takes Two, had launched during the same quarter.

While the $55 billion price tag makes this the largest leveraged buyout ever, it does not represent the biggest gaming acquisition in history. That distinction belongs to Microsoft’s $75.4 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, which closed in 2023 after an extended regulatory battle spanning multiple continents. The EA deal, by contrast, faced relatively smoother regulatory passage, though European approval in July was necessary before the transaction could finalize.

Why Going Private Could Help Creativity

Despite the legitimate concerns about debt-driven cost-cutting, some industry veterans see potential advantages in EA leaving the public markets. Fiona Sperry, former head of EA’s Criterion Games and current CEO of Three Fields Entertainment, expressed cautious optimism about what going private could mean for creative freedom. “I’d be really excited about the opportunity that going private would entail,” she told GI.biz. Publicly traded companies face constant pressure to meet quarterly earnings expectations, which can force studios to release games before they’re truly ready.

“However experienced you are, the reality of game development means that you’re often having to compromise your game to hit a date–a date you most often had to commit to long before you’ve finalized the design,” Sperry explained. “You have to design to the date rather than the other way round. And it’s really hard to do that when you’re trying to innovate.” She expressed hope that EA’s talented creative teams might finally have the opportunity to take meaningful risks without the relentless pressure of quarterly financial reporting. Piers Harding-Rolls similarly noted that escaping public market scrutiny could allow EA to focus on “long-term strategies and investments” rather than short-term financial metrics.

However, analysts caution that private ownership brings its own pressures. The consortium acquiring EA will undoubtedly have performance expectations and return targets, even if these aren’t subject to public quarterly disclosure. The substantial debt taken on to finance the acquisition will need to be serviced, creating its own financial imperatives. As EA enters this new chapter, the gaming industry will be watching closely to see whether the world’s largest leveraged buyout becomes a cautionary tale or a model for how private ownership can benefit creative enterprises. CEO Andrew Wilson struck an optimistic tone in the official announcement, promising bold investment, accelerated innovation, and a focus on building “the next generation of games and experiences.” Only time will tell whether those promises can be fulfilled under the weight of historic debt obligations.

A Seismic Shift With Uncertain Outcomes

Common Questions About the EA Sale