Video game maker Electronic Arts Inc. has agreed to be acquired by a private consortium for $55 billion, marking the largest leveraged buyout ever recorded.
The investor group includes Silver Lake Management, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners. They will pay $210 per share in cash for the Redwood City-based publisher, a 25% premium to EA’s stock price before deal talks leaked last Friday.
Electronic Arts, publisher of hit franchises such as EA Sports FC, The Sims, and Madden NFL, has been grappling with sluggish growth in the $178 billion global gaming market. The pandemic surge in video game demand has long faded, leaving companies struggling as players increasingly gravitate toward free-to-play games that offer ongoing updates rather than $80 boxed releases.
EA has endured repeated layoffs and has been searching for new growth strategies. “The transaction, which includes $20 billion in debt financing from JPMorgan Chase & Co., also shows Wall Street’s appetite for game-changing mergers under the deal-friendly Trump Administration, despite recession fears and geopolitical concerns impacting the broader economy,” the company said.
The $55 billion transaction surpasses the $45 billion take-private of TXU Corp. in 2007, setting a new benchmark for the largest leveraged buyout. It also becomes the largest M&A deal of 2025, underscoring the scale of private equity’s push into interactive entertainment.
Going private allows EA to sidestep quarterly earnings pressures and focus on long-term projects. Its sports franchises remain highly profitable, with Madden NFL among the industry’s top sellers, delivering the steady revenue streams attractive to private equity.
Circana data shows EA’s sports titles accounted for four of the industry’s top 10 best sellers in 2024. The upcoming launch of Battlefield 6, slated for October 10, is already generating strong buzz and has lifted EA shares 15% this year before the buyout news surfaced.
Analysts say EA’s strong lineup of recurring sports content provides the predictability that makes leveraged buyouts viable. “EA’s strength in sports gives the company the predictable revenue that private equity firms like,” the statement emphasized.
For Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, this marks its most ambitious gaming investment yet. The fund already owns nearly 10% of EA and acquired Scopely, the maker of Monopoly Go!, in 2023 through its Savvy Games Group for $4.9 billion.
Silver Lake brings extensive tech investment experience, having also participated in talks to acquire the US business of TikTok. Affinity Partners, founded by Kushner during the first Trump administration, adds Middle East-backed capital to the deal.
Most large foreign-backed acquisitions undergo government approval, meaning this transaction could face scrutiny. Still, the political alignment of investors with the Trump administration is likely to smooth the process.
Founded in 1982, EA has been one of the last large independent video game publishers. Its sale signals the accelerating consolidation of the gaming industry, following Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard two years ago.