Electronic Arts (EA), one of the world's largest gaming companies, is set to become a private company in a historic $55 billion acquisition deal. EA is known for its popular game franchises such as EA Sports FC (formerly FIFA), Madden NFL and Battlefield, and currently has up to 700 million players.
The acquisition is being carried out by a consortium formed by Silver Lake, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Jared Kushner's investment fund Affinity Partners. The deal is expected to close in the coming days.
JPMorgan, one of the leading US financial institutions, has prepared a loan package worth more than $20 billion for financing. If the deal is completed, the sale of EA will go down in history as one of the largest "take-private" deals, surpassing the $45 billion TXU purchase in 2007.
EA, which has not achieved the expected increase in game sales after the pandemic, is focusing on "live services" - continuously updated online games. The company currently generates 75 percent of its revenue from this area. EA shares rose 15 percent after the news of the acquisition broke.
It should be noted that Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard two years ago for $75.4 billion. EA's transfer to private investors could lead to a new balance of power in the global gaming market.
