EA’s $55 Billion Saudi-Backed Buyout Clears Final EU Hurdle

Electronic Arts says its $55 billion take-private deal has secured all required regulatory approvals and is expected to close August 4. The transaction will put Saudi Arabia’s PIF in control while shifting attention to debt, layoffs and creative independence.

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EA’s $55 Billion Saudi-Backed Buyout Clears Final EU Hurdle

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A record buyout nears the finish line

Electronic Arts expects its $55 billion sale to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to close around the end of trading on August 4. The company said all required regulatory approvals had been obtained by July 30, although customary closing conditions still apply.gamesindustry +1

The European Commission’s foreign-subsidy clearance removes the deal’s final major regulatory obstacle. Brussels had already approved the transaction under its regular merger rules after finding that it would have a limited competitive impact in the markets where the parties operate.eutoday

New owners and a private EA

The buyer group combines PIF with Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, the investment firm founded by Jared Kushner. When the transaction closes, EA will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Oak-Eagle AcquireCo, with PIF expected to hold 93.4% of the game publisher.pocketgamer +1

The acquisition, announced in September 2025 and approved by EA shareholders in December, is expected to become the largest leveraged buyout on record. Andrew Wilson is set to remain chief executive, and EA will keep its headquarters in California, but taking the company private will end the regular public disclosure of financial details that investors and industry observers use to assess its performance.gamesindustry +1

The scale of the purchase also advances Saudi Arabia’s effort to build a global gaming business as part of its Vision 2030 diversification program. PIF has accumulated stakes across the industry, while Saudi-backed Scopely has acquired the mobile-games business of Niantic.pocketgamer +1

Debt and creative control move into focus

Regulatory clearance does not settle questions about how the new owners will run EA. The financing is expected to leave the publisher carrying about $20 billion of debt, increasing pressure to prioritize predictable earners such as EA Sports FC and Battlefield while controlling costs.pcgamer

Those concerns are sharper after repeated layoffs across EA studios. GamesIndustry.biz reported that EA cut an unspecified number of workers from four studios connected to Battlefield in March, even as the company credited Battlefield 6 with helping lift quarterly net revenue by 12% to $2.1 billion and net income by 81.5% to $461 million.gamesindustry

Creators and former developers have also questioned whether ownership linked to the Saudi state could affect games featuring political or LGBTQ+ themes. The immediate milestone is financial and procedural: barring an unexpected failure of the remaining closing conditions, one of the world’s biggest game publishers will leave public markets under the control of a sovereign-wealth-led consortium.pcgamer

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EA’s $55 Billion Saudi-Backed Buyout Clears Final EU Hurdle

A record buyout nears the finish line

New owners and a private EA

Debt and creative control move into focus