EA to be taken private in $55B all-cash deal by PIF-led consortium

Electronic Arts said Monday it has agreed to be acquired in a roughly $55 billion all‑cash transaction by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, private equity firm Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, the investment firm run by Jared Kushner. Under the terms announced by the company, shareholders will receive $210 per share and Electronic Arts will be taken private, ending its 36 years as a publicly traded company if the deal closes as expected in the first quarter of the company's 2027 fiscal year.

The company said the transaction, which its board has approved, will be funded by about $36 billion in equity from the investor group and roughly $20 billion of debt financing. Saudi Arabia’s PIF is expected to roll over its existing roughly 9.9 percent stake. The takeover would be the largest leveraged buyout on record and represents a roughly 25 percent premium to EA’s share price before news of the talks became public. Shares rose about 14 to 15 percent on the announcement.

CEO Andrew Wilson, who has led the company since 2013, will remain in place. In a message to staff released by the company, Wilson described the deal as recognition of employees’ creativity...