EA Taken Private in $55 Billion Buyout Led by Saudi Public Investment Fund

Electronic Arts’ $55 billion sale closed Tuesday, taking the publisher of franchises including The Sims, Battlefield, Dragon Age and Mass Effect private under a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The change matters beyond any speculation about individual game series: control of one of the video game industry’s biggest publishers has shifted, and EA is no longer a public company.

EA said Aug. 4 that each share of its common stock will receive $210 in cash under the acquisition by a consortium made up of PIF, private investment funds affiliated with Silver Lake, and private investment funds affiliated with Affinity Partners, the investment firm founded by Jared Kushner. EA said its common stock has ceased trading and will be delisted from the Nasdaq stock market.

The transaction removes from public markets a company behind some of gaming’s most recognizable brands, including Apex Legends, EA Sports FC and Madden NFL in addition to The Sims and Battlefield. EA said it generated about $7.5 billion in GAAP net revenue in fiscal 2026.

The deal was announced in September 2025 and approved by EA stockholders at a special meeting on Dec. 22, 2025. According to the merger and proxy documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the financing package included about $36.4 billion in equity commitments and $20 billion in debt commitments. The same filings show PIF already held about 9.9% of EA before the acquisition and agreed to roll that stake into the new ownership structure, underscoring that this was not a first-time investment in the company.

Now that the deal has closed, EA will no longer be required to file the routine quarterly and annual reports that publicly listed companies submit to the SEC. For investors, employees and players trying to understand the company’s finances and strategy, that means less regular public disclosure than when EA traded on Nasdaq. The closing also means the merger’s required conditions were satisfied or waived as required under the agreement, including regulatory and national-security review provisions such as CFIUS-related clearance requirements.

The acquisition had drawn scrutiny in Washington before it closed. In an Oct. 14, 2025, letter, Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts raised concerns about possible foreign influence, user data, artificial intelligence research and cultural influence tied to the proposed takeover. More broadly, Human Rights Watch criticized PIF’s use of high-profile investments in entertainment and sports as part of a broader reputation-building strategy, according to Bloomberg’s 2024 reporting on the fund.

PIF, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has become an increasingly prominent investor across sports, media and entertainment. With EA now private, that reach extends more directly into a publisher whose games touch hundreds of millions of players and span annual sports releases, live-service shooters and long-running role-playing series.

Andrew Wilson, EA’s chief executive, said in the company’s announcement: “We’re entering this next chapter from a position of strength with partners who share our vision and ambition. Together, we’ll invest boldly, accelerate innovation, and build the next generation of games and experiences for the hundreds of millions of players and fans who inspire us every day.”