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EN
Saudi-led group completes $55 billion acquisition of Electronic Arts
['Steve Vegvari', 'Tony Tt']
iPhone in Canada
Electronic Arts (EA) is officially a privately owned company following the completion of its $55 billion USD (roughly $77 billion CAD) acquisition by a Saudi-led investment group.
The group includes Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), private equity firm Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, an investment company founded by Jared Kushner.
Roughly $20 billion USD (around $28.1 billion CAD) of the purchase was financed through debt, raising questions about how EA may reduce costs while paying back the borrowed funds.
The deal is also the second-largest acquisition in gaming history, behind Microsoft’s $69 billion USD (roughly $97.1 billion CAD) purchase of Activision Blizzard in 2023.
EA recently reported first-quarter bookings of $1.35 billion USD (around $1.9 billion CAD), falling below analyst expectations of $1.48 billion USD ($2.08 billion CAD).