EA reportedly in ‘advanced talks’ over $50bn buyout with investors, including Saudi’s PIF

Electronic Arts is reportedly in advanced talks for a proposed $50 billion buyout from private investors, including Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the proposed deal would be one of the largest ever, and see the FC and Battlefield publisher acquired by a group of large investors that also includes President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner and his firm Affinity Partners, and Silver Lake Partners.

Taking EA private would allow the investors to make changes to improve the game publisher’s performance, before selling at a higher price.

Silver Lake, Affinity Partners, the Public Investment Fund, and Electronic Arts did not respond to requests for comment from WSJ. Shares for EA rose nearly 15 percent following publication of the news, giving it a market value of around $48 billion.

If the deal were to happen, it would mark the acquisition of yet another US gaming giant, after companies like Activision and Bethesda sold up in recent years.

It would also see the influence of Saudi’s PIF over gaming increase further. The PIF, which is reportedly central to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s goal of making the Saudi economy less reliant on proceeds from oil, already owns billions in stock in companies such as EA and Take-Two.

According to one analyst, Saudi’s interest in EA could stem from its recognizable sports games portfolio, including FC.

“For Saudi Arabia’s PIF, the deal would cement games as cultural infrastructure — assets as critical to global influence as sports or film,” Joost van Dreunen, games professor at NYU Stern School of Business, told Reuters.