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Logo of Public Investment Fund (PIF)
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), alongside Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, signed a definitive agreement to acquire video-game giant Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) in a record-breaking $55 billion all-cash transaction.
Under the terms of the agreement, the consortium will purchase 100% of EA, with PIF rolling over its existing 9.9% stake in the company. EA stockholders will receive $210 per share in cash, according to a statement today, Sept. 29.
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The per-share purchase price represents a 25% premium to EA’s unaffected stock price of $168.32 at market close on Sept. 25 — the last fully unaffected trading day. The deal also surpasses EA’s all-time high of $179.01 at market close on Aug. 14, it noted.
The leveraged buyout was approved by EA’s board of directors and is expected to close in Q1 2027, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory and shareholder approvals.
Following the close of the planned take-private transaction, EA’s common stock will be delisted from public markets.
The transaction will be funded by a combination of cash from each of PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners as well as roll-over of PIF’s existing stake in EA, constituting an equity investment of approximately $36 billion.
This is in addition to $20 billion of debt financing, to be fully and solely committed by JPMorgan Chase, $18 billion of which is expected to be funded at closing, according to the company.
It noted that, each of PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners plan to fund the equity financing tranche entirely from capital under their respective control.
According to Argaam’s data, PIF owned 24.8 million shares in EA as of the end of Q2 2025, representing 10% of the company’s share capital.
EA is one of the world’s largest videogame publishers. It was established in 1982 in California, US. It is well known for developing a wide array of successful games on a global scale.
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