EA Is Now Officially Privately Owned
Longtime Slashdot reader neoRUR shares a report from Game Developer: EA Sports FC and Battlefield publisher EA has been taken private by an investor consortium led by Saudi Arabia's sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF). The move means the U.S. juggernaut is no longer a publicly-traded entity and is now majority owned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through its PIF investment arm. Other investors…
EA, the leading publisher behind renowned sports titles like FC and Battlefield, has now been officially taken private by a consortium of investors. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) leads this private equity group, which also includes Silver Lake and Affinity Partners. Affinity Partners, established by U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, played a significant role in the acquisition.
The $55 billion deal was financed through a mix of cash contributions from the investors and a roll-over of PIF's existing stake in EA, valued at approximately $36 billion. In addition, $20 billion in debt financing was provided by JPMorgan Chase Bank. The acquisition cleared regulatory hurdles in July and was approved by major markets like the European Union and the United States without significant opposition, despite some concerns raised by U.S. lawmakers and union leaders regarding potential geopolitical and employment impacts. Following the clearance, the transaction was completed at the close of trading on August 4, 2026.
Written by urgent.news from Slashdot's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.