Video game giant Electronic Arts (EA) has agreed to be acquired by an investor group for US$55 billion (about C$76.6 billion).
The group is composed of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (which already holds nearly 10 per cent investment in EA) and the U.S.’ Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, the last of which is run by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027 and is still subject to approval by regulators and EA stockholders. Should the acquisition move forward, it would be one of the biggest buyouts of a publicly traded company in history.
The deal comes after EA has seen stagnant revenues over the past three fiscal years amid wider economic struggles in the gaming industry that have led to tens of thousands losing their jobs. Over the past year, EA cut five per cent of its workforce, reported underwhelming sales for games like BioWare Edmonton’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard and cancelled a highly-anticipated Black Panther game.
Naturally, though, EA boss Andrew Wilson’s pay has only gone up in this time. On top of that, Wilson would remain as CEO should this new deal go through. In a press statement, he said the buyout will allow EA to “create transformative experiences to inspire generations to come.” In a letter to employees, Wilson also tried to offer reassurance that the company’s “values and our commitment to players and fans around the world remain unchanged.”
Of course, many aren’t buying that, with plenty of concern for EA being shared online. For one, the leveraged buyout will be financed by US$20 billion in debt (about C$27.8 billion), which will undoubtedly lead to major cost-cutting measures. Unfortunately, this could result in mass layoffs, studio closures and aggressive monetization, among other initiatives.
Therefore, it’s currently unclear what this deal might mean for the many studios and properties that the Redwood City, California-based EA owns and develops worldwide. This includes DICE (Battlefield) in Stockholm, Redwood City-based Maxis (The Sims) and LA-based Respawn (Apex Legends).
EA also has a handful of studios in Canada. This includes EA Vancouver (EA Sports FC), Edmonton’s BioWare (Mass Effect), Montreal’s Motive (Dead Space) and Vancouver’s Full Circle (the just-released Skate). It remains to be seen how this news might affect upcoming games from these teams. For instance, EA Vancouver is no doubt working on the next annualized EA Sports FC and NHL games, while BioWare and Motive are confirmed to be developing the next Mass Effect and a new Iron Man game, respectively.
And on a broader level, there’s always apprehension when such a major company goes private to begin with, and that’s only exacerbated in this case due to the investor group. Kushner’s involvement alone draws scrutiny, in no small part due to his ties to Trump. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, meanwhile, draws concerns over its ever-growing takeovers of many global assets, as well as human rights issues in that country, not the least of which being the murders of multiple journalists who were critical of the government.
In other words, you might want to enjoy Battlefield 6 next month as the last big EA game to be unaffected by this new venture.
Image credit: EA
Source: EA
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