Washington (AFP) – Video game giant Electronic Arts, known for The Sims and FIFA games, announced Monday it would be acquired for $55 billion by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The group includes US investment firms Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, the Miami-based firm founded by Jared Kushner, former White House advisor and son-in-law of President Donald Trump.
“This moment is a powerful recognition of their remarkable work,” EA Chairman and CEO Andrew Wilson said of the company’s employees in a statement, adding the deal would help “unlock new opportunities on a global stage.” The deal would be the largest all-cash private equity buyout in history, the statement said.
EA, known for popular franchises including FIFA soccer games, Madden NFL, The Sims, and Battlefield, reported revenue of $7.5 billion in its most recent fiscal year. FIFA was updated annually from 1993 to 2023, before Electronic Arts lost the license following a financial disagreement between EA and the FIFA organization. The game, now called EA Sports FC, has largely retained its player base, becoming the best-selling game in Western Europe in 2023, the year the first renamed edition launched.
The publisher also owns The Sims franchise, which allows players to create an avatar and develop characters and a city in a virtual world. Twenty-five years after its launch, The Sims continues to attract new fans. In May 2024, EA revealed that 85 million people were playing the latest version, The Sims 4. The California-based company is also counting on the release of the new version of its first-person shooter game Battlefield, called Battlefield 6, which will be its 13th installment in the series.
After seeing its revenue soar in the years following the Covid-19 pandemic, the company founded by former Apple employee Trip Hawkins in 1982 has experienced a slowdown, in line with the sector as a whole. This major new deal in the video game world comes two years after Microsoft’s $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which also left the stock market. On Wall Street, the shares of remaining listed gamers were up on Monday. Roblox rose 4.72 percent, while Take-Two Interactive gained 1.53 percent. The acquisition is expected to close in early fiscal 2027 and requires approval from EA shareholders and regulatory authorities.
– Saudi deals – Saudi Arabia’s PIF, which already holds a 9.9 percent stake in EA, will roll over its existing investment as part of the transaction. This announcement follows a tour of the Gulf region in May by President Trump, which was marked by promises of huge investments. Trump signed a “strategic economic partnership” agreement with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de facto leader, which, according to the White House, will see Riyadh invest $600 billion in the United States.
Video games are at the heart of the crown prince’s ambitious “Vision 2030” reform plan. The oil-rich monarchy is passionate about gaming and eSports: 70 percent of Saudis are under 35, and Mohammed bin Salman, aged 40, is himself known to be a fan of the game Call of Duty. The deal will be financed through approximately $36 billion in equity from the consortium members and $20 billion in debt committed by JPMorgan Chase.
Upon completion, EA will be delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange and remain headquartered in Redwood City, California, under Wilson’s continued leadership. The agreement marks PIF’s latest major investment in the gaming sector as Saudi Arabia seeks to diversify its economy beyond oil revenues.
© 2024 AFP
