Electronic Arts is reportedly looking to take it private through an acquisition deal worth about $50 billion (roughly Rs. 4,43,767 crore). The video game company, whose franchises include Battlefield and EA Sports FC, is said to be in “advanced talks” with a group of investors, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), private equity firm Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, an investment firm owned by US President Donald Trump. son-in-law Jared Kushner;
EA could confirm the deal this week, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal on Friday (paywall). It is said that the $50 billion deal may be the largest leveraged buyout in history. The company’s shares have risen nearly 15% since the Wall Street Journal report was published, currently trading at $193.35. EA’s current market capitalization is $48.38 billion.
EA and the investment firm have yet to comment on the reported deal.
Gambling Investments with PIF
PIF is Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which has made large investments in technology companies such as Uber and holds stakes in a handful of U.S. companies. The fund also has several investments in video game companies including Nintendo, Capcom, Take-Two and others.
PIF also owns Savvy Games Group, which earlier this year acquired the gaming business of Pokémon Go owner Niantic, including the popular game, for $3.5 billion (roughly Rs. 30,465 crore).
In July, EA reported strong earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2026, with net bookings reaching $1.298 billion, beating expectations based on strong performance from EA Sports and Apex Legends.
With a strong lineup of game launches, including next month’s highly anticipated Battlefield 6, EA expects net bookings to be between $7.6 billion and $8 billion in fiscal 2026. The company launched EA Sports FC 26, the annual entry in its popular football video game series, on September 26, the day news of the deal broke.
A deal to take EA private would be the second-largest video game deal in history, behind Microsoft’s $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023. There have been some big moves in the gaming industry in recent years. Take-Two acquired mobile game maker Zynga for $12.7 billion in 2022, while Microsoft acquired Bethesda parent company Zenimax in 2021 for $7.5 billion. PIF’s Savvy Games Group acquired US mobile game maker Scopely in 2023 for US$4.9 billion.