EA’s $55 billion buyout is set to close August 4
EA's $55 billion leveraged buyout is set to close on August 4, handing the publisher to a consortium of Saudi Arabia's PIF, Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners.
Electronic Arts is set to become a privately held company on August 4. A document filed with the SEC confirms that the $55 billion leveraged buyout of the publisher has cleared all of its regulatory approvals as of July 30 and is set to close next week, barring a last-minute snag. The consortium taking EA private is made up of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, the firm run by Jared Kushner.
This is the largest leveraged buyout on record. Roughly $20 billion of the price is debt financing arranged by JP Morgan, which means the company that comes out of the deal starts life owing an enormous amount of money.
EA sits on one of the deepest back catalogues in the business, and an ownership change like this is exactly the kind of moment that decides whether an old library gets kept in print or quietly left to rot. A company carrying that much debt tends to chase what earns now, not what a preservationist would want available. I am not optimistic this is good news for anyone hoping EA’s older games stay easy to buy and play.