Saudi Fund Set to Acquire Majority of Electronic Arts

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Saudi Arabia‘s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is on track to acquire nearly all of Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) under a significant buyout plan. According to a filing with a Brazilian antitrust regulator, PIF is set to own 93.4% of EA, a company known for popular franchises such as ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL.’

Private equity firm Silver Lake Partners will hold a 5.5% stake, while Jared Kushner‘s Affinity Partners will have 1.1%, the Wall Street Journal reported. Representatives from EA, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners did not respond to requests for comment.

Originally announced in September 2025, this deal would represent the largest leveraged buyout in history and is expected to close by mid-2026, pending regulatory and shareholder approval. EA has scheduled a shareholder meeting later this month to vote on the proposal, which, if approved, will move the company to private ownership.

The buyout comes at a time when the video game industry is experiencing significant consolidation and struggling to regain growth rates observed during the pandemic. While video games remain popular, EA’s annual revenues have been stagnant for the last three fiscal years, fluctuating between $7.4 billion and $7.6 billion.

The Wall Street Journal calculated that raising PIF’s stake from 9.9% to 93.4% will require an investment of around $29 billion. The overall acquisition amount is expected to exceed $55 billion and includes $36.4 billion of the consortium’s equity and an additional $20 billion in debt.