An Electronic Arts online game emblem is seen on the Electronic Entertainment Expo.
Lucy Nicholson | Reuters
Electronic Arts stated Monday that it has agreed to be acquired by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners in an all-cash deal value $55 billion.
Shareholders of the corporate will obtain $210 per share in money.
EA inventory climbed 5% Monday. Shares gained about 15% Friday, closing at $193.35, after the Wall Street Journal reported that the corporate was nearing a deal to go private.
PIF is rolling over its current 9.9% stake in the corporate and will, by far, be the bulk investor in the brand new construction, folks near the deal informed CNBC’s David Faber.
Affinity CEO Jared Kushner, who’s President Donald Trump‘s son-in-law, touted EA’s “bold vision for the future” in a launch asserting the deal.
“I’ve admired their ability to create iconic, lasting experiences, and as someone who grew up playing their games - and now enjoys them with his kids – I couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead,” Kushner stated in a assertion.
The group of corporations is making a complete $36 billion fairness funding, with $20 billion in debt financing from JPMorgan, in accordance with the discharge. JPMorgan was introduced in a couple of weeks in the past, folks conversant in the deal informed Faber.
The take-private deal for the maker of fashionable video games like Battlefield, The Sims and the Madden sequence of NFL video games, amongst others, is ready to be the largest leveraged buyout in Wall Street historical past.
In a word to staff, EA CEO Andrew Wilson stated he’s “excited to continue as CEO.”
“Our new partners bring deep experience across sports, gaming, and entertainment,’ he wrote. “They are dedicated with conviction to EA – they consider in our folks, our management, and the long-term imaginative and prescient we at the moment are constructing collectively.”
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027.
There is a 45-day window to allow for other proposals, people familiar with the terms of the deal told Faber. The deal talks started in the spring, the people said.
Silver Lake, which is led by co-CEOs Egon Durban and Greg Mondre, is also one of the key investors in Trump’s push to get TikTok under U.S. control.
CNBC has reached out to EA for further comment and information on the deal.
EA year-to-date inventory chart.
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