Electronic Arts Sold in $55 Billion Deal to PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners

Electronic Arts Inc., the global video game publisher headquartered in Redwood City, California, has confirmed it will be acquired in a historic $55 billion all-cash transaction. The investor consortium behind the deal is made up of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), technology-focused private equity firm Silver Lake, and Miami-based Affinity Partners. This consortium will acquire 100 percent of EA, marking the end of the company’s 35-year run as a publicly traded company. Once finalized, EA’s stock will be removed from public markets, bringing the publisher fully into private ownership.

Under the terms of the agreement, Electronic Arts shareholders will receive $210 per share in cash. That payout represents a 25 percent premium to the company’s unaffected share price of $168.32 at market close on September 25, 2025, the last fully unaffected trading day. The figure also exceeds EA’s unaffected all-time high of $179.01 recorded on August 14, 2025. PIF, which already held a 9.9 percent stake in EA, will roll over its existing shares as part of the arrangement. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of EA’s fiscal year 2027, subject to approval by regulators and shareholders.

The financing structure of the acquisition is extensive. Approximately $36 billion will come from equity contributions by PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners. An additional $20 billion will be funded through debt financing committed by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., of which $18 billion is expected to be funded at closing. Advisors on the deal include Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC as EA’s financial advisor, with legal counsel from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. For the consortium, Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as lead legal counsel, with additional counsel provided by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP for PIF, Latham & Watkins LLP and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP for Silver Lake, and Sidley Austin LLP for Affinity Partners. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is acting as the financial advisor to the consortium.

EA will remain headquartered in Redwood City, California, and Andrew Wilson will continue as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Wilson described the acquisition as “a powerful recognition” of the work of EA’s teams, noting that they have delivered experiences for hundreds of millions of fans while building some of the world’s most iconic intellectual properties. He insisted EA will keep pushing the envelope, betting big on entertainment, sports, and technology to inspire generations to come.

The investor group expressed its own views on the acquisition. Egon Durban, Co-CEO and Egon Durban, Co-CEO and Managing Partner of Silver Lake, praised EA as a special company and pointed to Wilson’s leadership, under which EA doubled revenue, nearly tripled EBITDA, and increased market capitalization fivefold. Durban said Silver Lake intends to invest heavily in EA to expand its reach and accelerate innovation worldwide. Jared Kushner, CEO of Affinity Partners, remarked that EA is an extraordinary company with a bold vision for the future, stating his personal connection to the publisher’s games, which he enjoyed both growing up and now with his children. From the PIF side, Turqi Alnowaiser, Deputy Governor and Head of International Investments, emphasized PIF’s commitment to the gaming and esports sectors, describing this partnership as a way to fuel EA’s long-term growth and drive innovation globally.

Electronic Arts has experienced challenges leading up to this deal. Founded in 1982 and publicly traded since 1989 with an initial market capitalization of around $84 million, the company grew into one of the largest publishers in the gaming industry, generating GAAP net revenue of about $7.5 billion in fiscal year 2025. However, in early 2025, the company lost roughly $6 billion in shareholder value after reporting underperformance of EA Sports FC 25 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. EA also laid off more than 650 employees in 2024 in a cost-cutting move it described as streamlining operations. In addition, the company canceled a planned Black Panther game, closed the studio behind it, and reportedly shelved its Need for Speed franchise.

Despite these, EA continues to be recognized for its expansive catalog of franchises. Its portfolio includes EA SPORTS FC, Madden NFL, Battlefield, Apex Legends, The Sims, College Football, Dragon Age, Titanfall, Plants vs. Zombies, and F1, among others. These titles, along with the company’s online services, have solidified EA’s role as a central player in the global gaming market.

This transaction stands as the largest all-cash sponsor take-private investment in history. Although Microsoft’s $68.7 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard in 2023 remains the largest overall gaming acquisition, EA’s sale ranks close behind and underscores the growing financial scale of the video game industry. According to Bloomberg, the buyout is also being recognized as the largest-ever leveraged buyout to date.

EA’s board, led by Luis A. Ubiñas as Lead Independent Director, mentioned that after careful evaluation, it concluded the transaction delivers immediate and certain cash value for stockholders while strengthening EA’s ability to continue building communities and experiences for the future of entertainment.

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