Electronic Arts: Saudi Arabia to Own 93% of the Company
These are the proportions of the agreement
Electronic Arts is about to change hands: we have already discussed how the complete package of its share capital will be sold for a total of 55 Billion Dollars: we are witnessing the second largest acquisition in the video game industry after that of Activision Blizzard King by Microsoft.
The agreement, as was already known, involves a consortium of several investors, including President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner: the main companies involved are the American Silver Lake and Affinity Partner and the PIF investment fund from Saudi Arabia; although it was immediately reported that the latter was the main and strongest buyer, the proportions and shares that the three partners would divide were not known until now.
The The Wall Street Journal outlines this detail, reporting data provided by the Brazilian antitrust body: if these data prove correct, the PIF would become the owner of a staggering 93% of EA's share package. Silver Lake and Affinity Partner, for their part, would obtain 5.5% and 1.1% respectively; approximately 0.4% is missing, which will go into the hands of minor investors. It must be said that both companies are listed among those subsidized by the Saudi fund itself, which raises the suspicion that their interest in the deal was born only to facilitate the transfer of one of the largest American publishers into the hands of Saudi Arabia.
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Saudi Arabia's Investments in US Companies
Recently, Arab-origin funding for US companies has multiplied: President Trump also recently hosted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to sign an agreement on the supply of high technology, from Chips for Artificial Intelligence development to Fighter Jets.
To conclude the agreement that would bring such a share of EA into the fund's hands, however, the PIF will have to request loans for 20 Billion Dollars, but the solvency of this debt - and related interest - would be guaranteed by the extraordinary volume of business that the fund has in any case developed in various companies and by the earning prospects linked precisely to the exploitation of AI - yes: even in video game development.
Now the ball is in the court of Electronic Arts' current board of directors, which has until the end of this month to provide a positive or negative opinion. If the deal goes through, the migration would conclude around mid-2026, after which the shares would be removed from the market and at the beginning of 2027 EA would definitively be in the hands of the new owners.
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