Redwood City-based Electronic Arts could be taken private in a $55 billion deal announced Monday that's backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, and private equity firm Silver Lake.
Electronic Arts may soon be privately owned if a deal is approved that brings together the three equity partners, in what would be the largest-ever buyout funded by private-equity firms, as the Associated Press reports. The 36-year-old game publisher behind hits like Battlefield, Madden NFL, and Bejeweled, is valued at $52.5 billion in the deal, and existing shareholders would be paid a 25-percent premium on their shares as of today, or $210 per share.
"Electronic Arts is an extraordinary company with a world-class management team and a bold vision for the future," said Kushner in a statement. “"I’ve admired their ability to create iconic, lasting experiences, and as someone who grew up playing their games — and now enjoys them with his kids — I couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead."
President Trump's son-in-law launched his Miami-based investment firm Affinity Partners in 2021. Its largest investor is the Saudi government's sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has reportedly allocated $2 billion to the firm. As the New York Times reported in 2022, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shot down objections from the fund's advisors in order to cut the initial deal with Kushner, six months after Trump left office the first time.
Together with Silver Lake, if the deal goes through, Affinity and the PIF would now control one of the big players in the video game marketplace, and the deal follows the 2023 deal by Microsoft to acquire EA's rival Activision Blizzard for $69 billion.
The PIF was already the largest private stakeholder in EA, owning 9.9% of the company, and they own a minority stake in Nintendo as well.
As the New York Times notes, the deal to acquire EA comes at a time when gaming consoles, for which EA designs the majority of its games, are seen as being in decline, facing stiff competition from the rise of mobile gaming. According to analysts, the PIF may be seeking to bring EA's most popular titles onto mobile and streaming platforms, in order to reach a wider audience.
EA is known in particular for its sports game titles, and the move also comes amid a broader effort by the Saudis to be more heavily involved in global sports in general, with the launch of their own PGA competitor, LIV Golf, and their investments in soccer teams.
The acquisition deal still requires approval by EA shareholders and its board, as well as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, and it is expected to close in 2027.
EA is expected to remain headquartered in Redwood City, with its CEO of 12 years Andrew Wilson remaining at the helm.
The last large deal to purchase a public company by a group of private equity firms was the 2007 deal to acquire Texas utility company TXU.
Top image: A sign is posted in front of Electric Arts headquarters on September 29, 2025 in Redwood City, California. Video game maker Electronic Arts is being acquired in a $55 billion deal with private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, Affinity Partners, and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF. The deal could become the largest private equity-funded buyout in history. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
