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Video game company Electronic Arts (EA), known as the maker of the “The Sims” and “Madden NFL,” is being acquired in a $55 billion deal.<\/p>\n
The California-based company said<\/a> Monday it had entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by a consortium of companies that includes Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF; private equity firm Silver Lake, and Miami-based investment firm Affinity Partners, which is led by President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. \u00a0<\/p>\n If finalized, the deal would be the most expensive acquisition of a public company to be taken private in history \u2014 surpassing $32 billion paid to Texas utility TXU in 2007 to go private.\u00a0<\/p>\n “The transaction positions EA to accelerate innovation and growth to build the future of entertainment,” the company said in a statement.<\/p>\n As part of the agreement, which is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027, stockholders will receive $210 per share in cash. Andrew Wilson, who has served as EA’s CEO since 2013, will continue to lead the company once the transaction is completed, EA said.<\/p>\n Electronic Arts, which is headquartered in Redwood City, California, oversees a suite of popular video games including “Battlefield,” “Apex Legends,” “EA SPORTS College Football” and “Need for Speed” among others. In fiscal year 2025, the company posted a net revenue of approximately $7.5 billion.<\/p>\n The company was founded by former Apple employee Trip Hawkins in 1982. If the transaction closes as anticipated, it will end EA’s 36-year history as a publicly traded company.<\/p>\n The $55 billion acquisition would also be one of the biggest game industry deals to date. The largest, according to Statista<\/a>, was three years ago, when\u00a0Microsoft bought<\/a><\/span>\u00a0video game company Activision Blizzard for approximately $69 billion.<\/p>\n