Saudi-led group completes $55bn purchase of gaming giant EA
A Saudi-led investment group has finalized a $55 billion leveraged buyout of gaming giant Electronic Arts, taking the company private. The deal, which involves significant debt, has sparked industry concerns regarding potential layoffs and aggressive monetization strategies.
Why it matters
This represents one of the largest leveraged buyouts in history, signaling a major shift in the gaming industry's ownership structure and potential changes to how popular titles are managed.
Image source, Electronic Arts Image caption, EA's football titles - from Fifa to EA FC - have sold over 325 million copies since the first release in 1993
The sale of gaming giant Electronic Arts (EA) for $55bn (£41bn) to a group of buyers including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) has been finalised.
The American company is known for making and publishing best-selling games such as EA FC, formerly known as Fifa, The Sims and Mass Effect.
The investors, who include Affinity Partners - led by President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner - are taking EA private, meaning all of its public shares will be purchased and it will no longer be traded on a stock exchange.
It is thought to be the largest leveraged buyout in history, meaning a significant part of it is paid for with borrowed money, which the company will have to pay back.
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