EA's Gone Private: Biggest Leveraged Buyout in History Has Closed

EA has announced the conclusion of its sale to an investor consortium for US$55 billion.

The consortium, led by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF, alongside Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners and Silicon Valley investment firm Silver Lake, purchased the company for US$210 a share (a premium of about 25% on the unaffected close share price of US$168.32).

The deal will see EA become privatised, meaning it will be delisted from the NASDAQ and no longer be obligated to disclose its financial position or hold earnings calls.

In its official press release, the company says the deal -- which was announced almost a year ago in September 2025 -- has closed, and shareholders will receive US$210 in cash per share of common stock held at closing.

The purchase, the largest leveraged buyout in history, was funded in part by around US$20 billion of debt financing, alongside US$36 billion of equity. The Saudi Arabian fund now owns over 93% of the publisher (rolling over its existing almost 10% stake), with Silver Lake holding approximately 5%, and Kushner's Affinity Partners holding just a touch over 1% of the company.

Andrew Wilson, who will remain Chairman and CEO of Electronic Arts, said, "We're entering this next chapter from a position of strength with partners who share our vision and ambition." In a separate memo sent to staff and published by the company, he referenced the company's mission statement "To Inspire the World to Play" and said that core mission would not be changing under the new structure.

Turqi Alnowaiser, Deputy Governor and Head of International Investments at PIF, whose fund now has almost complete control over one of the biggest games publishers in the world, said in his statement that "having been a minority investor" for some time gives the fund a real understanding of EA's business, and singled out the publisher's "massive global sports and gaming franchises."

Jared Kushner, who is also the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, said that his firm was "excited to support the company" to "reach new audiences" as part of the deal.

The Boardroom Read:

It remains to be seen what will come of the company under new ownership, but with US$20 billion worth of debt to pay back, it's going to take a lot of hard work and, more importantly, best-sellers to service its debts without gutting the parts of the business that don't immediately print money.

Alnowaiser's statement makes it pretty clear where the Saudis' particular interests in EA lie: it's no mistake that "sports" is front and centre as the country attempts to expand its influence using local sports and entertainment. For some examples, just look at the LIV Golf saga or the country's interest in professional wrestling company WWE, a partnership that's over ten years running at this point.

One of the main reasons that there's a spotlight on Saudi Arabia's investments in Western entertainment is the country's human rights record. As the country tries to rebrand itself amid a consistent track record of human rights abuses including allegations of labour exploitation, capital punishment and suppression of its citizens, it appears as though investment in the games industry is now in the sights of the country attempting to do what is traditionally called "sportswashing". We should probably call this new wave of investment "gamewashing".

Stepping aside from the geopolitical motivations, the elephant in the boardroom here is the amount of debt EA has taken on. Not only does this represent a risk to the development of new or unproven IP, but it also represents a significant risk to jobs, particularly in a company (and, generally speaking, an industry) that time and time again proves to treat its workers as disposable when the going gets tough.

While hits like Battlefield 6 are probably safe bets -- Alinea Analytics estimated it raked in an estimated US$350 million gross within three days of release), and 2025 was the first year in which the shooter franchise outsold a Call of Duty outright -- but they're not without risk: as Polygon reported, the company shed staff working on the franchise pretty quickly after the game released), it's increasingly likely that to pay down this US$20 billion debt, EA will have to double down on surer bets, rather than spreading itself thinner and innovating.

Sports is almost certainly another sure bet for the now-private company. In EA's last financial report, the company attributed its quarterly growth of almost 20% not only to Battlefield 6, but to the EA Sports FC series as well. Despite the general performance being good, net profits were down. In its final financial statement as a public company, EA attributed the drop to costs incurred from the acquisition.

It remains to be seen what happens to EA following the sale, but we'll keep on top of it right here at The Level Up Times. Expect detailed analysis in this week's episode of The Level Up Times Show, too.