Electronic Arts closed its $55 billion acquisition by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake Partners, and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners on Friday, marking the largest gaming industry take-private in history. The consortium paid $147 per share in cash, a 41% premium to EA's unaffected share price three months ago. EA delisted from NASDAQ after market close.
The transaction transfers control of FIFA, Madden NFL, Apex Legends, and The Sims franchises to a buyer group that now owns the second and fifth-largest gaming publishers globally by revenue. PIF holds a 62% stake, Silver Lake 23%, and Affinity Partners 15%. EA's 12,900 employees transition to private ownership. The company generated $7.4 billion in revenue and $1.9 billion in operating income over the trailing twelve months. Live-services revenue — primarily Ultimate Team packs across sports titles — accounted for 71% of total bookings.
The deal removes the last major Western AAA publisher from public markets and hands Saudi Arabia effective control over annual sports gaming franchises that reach 150 million monthly active users. PIF's gaming portfolio now includes stakes in Nintendo, Capcom, Nexon, and full ownership of Savvy Games Group, which purchased ESR and Scopely for a combined $6.4 billion last year. The fund's gaming allocation sits near $38 billion, larger than Tencent's minority stake portfolio. Silver Lake and Affinity bring operational leverage — Silver Lake carved Unity's advertising unit in 2022 for $4.4 billion and Affinity closed a $3 billion raise in March targeting media and technology buyouts.
EA's exit eliminates quarterly earnings pressure that limited long-cycle development and forced annual release cadences. Private ownership allows multi-year investment in Frostbite engine rebuilds, extended franchise development windows, and geographic expansion without public market reaction to quarter-over-quarter booking volatility. The buyer group telegraphed this strategy in October, committing $8 billion over five years for studio expansion in Riyadh, Seoul, and Singapore. EA's Vancouver, Los Angeles, and Austin campuses remain operational under current management. CEO Andrew Wilson stays in role with a refreshed equity package tied to private valuation milestones. The company will continue existing sports licensing agreements — FIFA naming rights run through 2034 after a $3 billion extension signed in June, and NFL partnership extends to 2030.
Allocators should track three follow-on events. First, PIF's next gaming target surfaces within six months — Ubisoft, Embracer Group, or Bandai Namco fit the acquisition profile and trade at 4.2x to 6.8x enterprise value to revenue, below EA's exit multiple of 7.4x. Second, EA's first post-acquisition financing move arrives in Q1 2025, likely a $12-15 billion term loan to return capital to PIF and fund the studio buildout. Third, activist pressure builds on remaining public publishers — Take-Two, Embracer, and Ubisoft — to explore strategic alternatives as EA's premium reset valuation expectations.
EA's sports franchises generated $4.1 billion in microtransaction revenue last year, more than Roblox's total bookings and double Fortnite's disclosed 2023 in-game spending.
The takeaway
Saudi PIF now controls 71% of annual sports gaming revenue and removes EA from quarterly earnings cycles.
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