Electronic Arts taken private in $55 billion leveraged buyout
Electronic Arts has been acquired by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, completing a $55 billion transaction that makes it a privately held company.
Electronic Arts confirmed that a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), private-equity firm Silver Lake and Affinity Partners completed a $55 billion deal to take the game publisher private, with the PIF acquiring roughly 93.4% of the new entity. The transaction, which includes about $20 billion of debt financing, is reported to be the largest leveraged buyout on record.
Industry observers note that the financing structure may prompt EA to focus on its major franchise titles—such as Battlefield, EA Sports FC, Madden NFL and The Sims—rather than smaller experimental projects, a trend seen at other large publishers.
"As we begin this next chapter, I’m more optimistic than ever about what we’ll create together," CEO Andrew Wilson said in a message to staff. "The opportunities ahead are extraordinary, and they’ll be brought to life by our creativity, our ambition, and our belief in what’s possible."
The move follows a series of high-profile acquisitions in the video-game sector, including Microsoft’s purchases of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax Media and Take-Two’s acquisition of Zynga.