Electronic Arts completes $55 billion leveraged buyout, becomes privately held

Electronic Arts confirmed the closure of a $55 billion transaction that converts the video-game publisher into a private company. The consortium behind the purchase—headed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, with participation from Silver Lake and Affinity Partners—will own roughly 93.4% of the new entity. The financing package includes $20 billion of debt, marking the biggest leveraged buyout ever recorded.

In a staff memo, CEO Andrew Wilson expressed optimism about the “extraordinary” possibilities the new structure will enable. The scale of the deal suggests EA will double down on its biggest franchises, including Battlefield, EA Sports FC, Madden NFL and The Sims, rather than pursuing riskier smaller titles. This move follows other high-profile gaming acquisitions such as Microsoft’s purchases of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax Media and Take-Two’s acquisition of Zynga.