Julius Young — Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Vantage
EA's $55 billion buyout by Saudi Arabia's PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners closed August 4 — the largest leveraged buyout in history. PIF holds 93.4% of EA. The price tag is not the story. The story is what Saudi Arabia just bought.
Electronic Arts is no longer a public company. On August 4, the $55 billion buyout led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake Partners, and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners officially closed, delisting EA from the Nasdaq after 35 years. PIF holds 93.4%, Silver Lake 5.5%, Affinity Partners 1.1%. EA shareholders received $210 per share — a 25% premium to the unaffected share price. It is the largest leveraged buyout in history.
EA's franchises reach an estimated 700 million players worldwide. EA Sports FC is the most-played sports simulation game on earth. Apex Legends has tens of millions of active players. The Sims has been a primary social and creative environment for generations. Battlefield is one of the most established military shooter franchises in gaming. These are not conventional entertainment products. They are persistent digital environments in which hundreds of millions of people spend significant portions of their leisure time — environments that now belong to a fund controlled by the Saudi government.
The deal cleared CFIUS — the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which screens foreign acquisitions for national security risks. The US government reviewed the national security implications of Saudi Arabia owning the world's most-played sports simulation, a military shooter franchise, and a life simulation environment with hundreds of millions of users — and approved it. CEO Andrew Wilson remains in place. Headquarters stays in Redwood City. What changes is ownership: structurally, EA is now an arm of a foreign sovereign wealth fund's entertainment portfolio. Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 strategy has been consistent and accelerating — Newcastle United, LIV Golf, the Saudi Pro League, and now 700 million gamers. The largest leveraged buyout in history was also, quietly, the largest single transfer of audience access to a sovereign wealth fund the entertainment industry has ever seen.