Electronic Arts Inc. is closing in on a roughly $50 billion take-private with a consortium that includes Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the talks.
A deal could be announced as soon as next week, people familiar with the matter told the Journal. If it comes together, it would eclipse prior buyouts to become the biggest leveraged buyout on record.
The group in talks also includes private equity firm Silver Lake, whose playbook in sports and media has expanded with a string of large transactions in recent years.
EA shares rose about 15% Friday after the reports, lifting the company’s market value and highlighting investor confidence that a transaction could clear.
Electronic Arts and representatives for the buyer group have not publicly commented.
A $50 billion privatization would be a watershed for the videogame business. The industry has already seen consolidation through marquee deals such as Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Take-Two Interactive’s purchase of Zynga.
Taking EA off the public market would reshape the remaining roster of listed publishers and could spur fresh bids for medium-sized studios as rivals shore up pipelines and live-service portfolios.
EA offers two qualities that suit a leveraged structure for prospective buyers. First is stable cash generation driven by annual sports releases and live-service revenue from franchises like EA Sports FC and Madden NFL.
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Second is a sizable player network that lowers marketing costs when launching sequels and new modes.
Those characteristics often appeal to financial sponsors that plan to reduce volatility and harvest predictable free cash flow against a heavy debt load.
Saudi Arabia’s PIF has steadily built a gaming footprint as part of a diversification strategy tied to its Vision 2030 plan.
Through Savvy Games Group and other vehicles, it has taken positions across publishers, esports, and mobile developers.
A stake in EA through a take-private would give the fund deeper exposure to a global sports brand with recurring engagement and microtransaction economics.
Affinity Partners, meanwhile, has been expanding into technology and media assets across the region and beyond, making a gaming crown jewel a logical extension.
Silver Lake would add operational experience and financing heft, the firm has executed high-profile media and entertainment transactions and has relationships across distribution, data, and live events.
That could inform EA’s push into cross-platform services, licensing, and esports. Under private ownership, EA could pursue longer development cycles on core franchises without the cadence pressure that public markets impose each quarter.
It could also evaluate divestitures or bolt-on acquisitions to streamline internal studios and concentrate spending on its biggest communities.
Any transaction involving a foreign sovereign investor typically faces scrutiny from U.S. national security officials, and games have drawn more attention because of user data and online social features. Financing conditions are another variable.
Although bond markets have reopened for large buyouts this year, lenders will want comfort on spending discipline around new releases and on the resilience of live-service revenue if player engagement softens.
A take-private at the reported valuation would likely deliver an immediate premium to recent trading, though the final price and structure remain unknown.
If a deal is announced, merger arbitrage spreads will reflect the perceived regulatory and financing risk, especially given the size.
The implications will hinge on whether a private EA prioritizes exclusive content or seeks broader licensing to monetize its sports brands across more channels.
EA is leaning on upcoming entries in its Battlefield and FC series to drive bookings through the holiday season and into early 2026. Strong performance could support the sponsors’ underwriting case.
Any delay or miss could complicate timetables and debt sizing. Until terms are formalized, the only certainty is that one of the most enduring names in gaming is at the center of the year’s biggest deal story.
