Giant giant e -arts purchased in an unprecedented $ 55 billion deal

Electronic Arts (EA), one of the largest games for the world games in the world, agreed on a $ 55 billion deal for the company for $ 55 billion (£ 41 billion).

Buyer Consortium includes Saudi Arabia’s public investment funds (PIF), Silver Lake and Jared Kushner’s Affinity partners.

EA is known for making and publishing best-selling games like EA FC, previously known as FIFA, The Sims and Mass Effect.

Of course, it is the biggest purchase of a sheet in history – where a significant amount of purchase is funded by borrowing money.

The deal will take a private EA – which means that all its public shares will be purchased and it will no longer be traded on a stock exchange.

The purchase price places a significant 25% premium on the market value of EA, estimating it at $ 210 per share.

This is the second most price purchase of games in history after Microsoft’s $ 69 billion deal to buy the Call of Duty Publisher Activision Blizzard – which went after significant battles with global regulators, with the United Kingdom referring to the fact that it can harm competition.

In the end, the deal was approved only after Microsoft conveyed the rights to distribute the games to the console and computers through the cloud to kill Creed Ubisoft creator.

EA chief Andrew Wilson, who will remain in the post, said it was a “powerful recognition” of the company’s work.

“Together with our partners, we will create transformative experiences to inspire the generations coming,” he said.

EA companies will contribute approximately $ 36 billion, with the rest of the loan funded.

“EA is open to a potential buyer to help level for a while,” industry expert Christopher During told the BBC.

“But the acquisition of private capital is a surprise and there is a lot of anxiety in the industry around this deal.”

He said there was fears that the deal would lead to $ 20 billion in debt – which would have to be paid.

“Revenues generated by big games such as EA Sports FC, Madden and Battlefield 6 will be needed to serve this debt, which can affect EA’s ability to invest in new games,” he said.

“Other concerns in the industry have been whether this can lead to a further reduction of EA, especially if there is pressure from private companies to deliver a stronger cash flow to serve that debt.”

This is a large -scale purchase of a company that has been synonymous with the game industry for over 40 years.

At that time, EA was responsible for some of the largest series in history in history. Her football titles, now known as EA FC, have sold 325 million copies of the first edition in 1993.

Sims has sold more than 200 million copies and needs a speed of over 150 million.

But he is also the publisher of many other popular titles – he is often a partner of choosing a game in the Harry Potter and James Bond series in the past.

The purchase will be a big gaming feather in the hat of Saudi Arabia, which has increased its presence in the industry in recent years.

In March 2025, the nation’s investment fund paid $ 3.5 billion to buy Niantic Games Department – giving it control of the hit mobile game Pokémon Go.

The purchase became part of the Scopely Inc – the creators of Monopoly Go – which was purchased by the subsidiary PIF Savvy Games Group for $ 4.9 billion in 2023.

Saudi Arabia made waves in the Eport industry, hosting major tournaments, including the World Esports Championships, and will also host the 2027 planned Olympics.

The country already has shares in other large gaming companies such as Nintendo and Take-Two Interactive, but the purchase of EA marks a significant extension of its range.

Its PIF has hundreds of billions of assets because of its oil wealth and is controlled by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose government is accused of violations of human rights.

The 2019 UN report states that “the state of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is responsible” for the death of Jamal Hashogi, a journalist who is critical of the country’s government.

Saudi Arabia has always denied it.