Petteri Pyyny
5 Aug 2026 17:51
The massive corporate acquisition, announced in September 2025 and approved by shareholders in December, has now been officially completed. Electronic Arts (EA), one of the most well-known companies in the gaming industry, has been acquired by an investor consortium and will be delisted from the NASDAQ stock exchange. The total value of the deal was approximately 55 billion dollars, or about 47 billion euros, and shareholders will receive 210 dollars per share in cash for the completed transaction.
Although the buyer is officially an investment consortium comprising private equity firm Silver Lake, Affinity Partners, and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), according to PC Gamer, control of the company will shift to Saudi Arabia. With the deal, the country's investment fund will control a significant 93.4 percent ownership stake in the gaming giant.
Behind Affinity Partners, which acts as a smaller representative of the consortium, is Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, who has pre-existing close financial ties to Saudi Arabia.
In a press release issued by EA, CEO Andrew Wilson extols the deal as ushering in a new era for the company and enabling investments in future games.
The release also prominently highlights a new technological direction: Silver Lake CEO Egon Durban confirmed that investors are heavily committed to what artificial intelligence can bring to game development and the player experience.
EA is known for its extensive game library, which includes the EA Sports FC football series (formerly FIFA), The Sims, Battlefield, and Mass Effect, among others. There are particular concerns about the future content of The Sims, which represents diversity, due to Saudi Arabia's human rights situation and its stance on minorities. EA's values are assured to remain unchanged, but the more precise impact of the new owners on the games will become apparent in the coming years.