The EA $55 billion buyout is complete. Electronic Arts has formally left public markets, and a consortium made up of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners now owns the company outright. The transaction is the largest leveraged buyout in corporate history.
EA first announced the deal in 2025, and it closed this week after clearing shareholder and regulatory approval. JPMorgan arranged $20 billion of the $55 billion total through debt financing. Andrew Wilson remains EA’s chief executive following the ownership change, a position he has held since 2013.
What EA’s CEO said about the buyout closing
Wilson addressed the deal’s completion in a company statement. “This moment recognises the extraordinary people whose creativity, ambition, and passion have made EA one of the world’s leading interactive entertainment companies. We’re entering this next chapter from a position of strength with partners who share our vision and ambition. Together, we’ll invest boldly, accelerate innovation, and build the next generation of games and experiences for the hundreds of millions of players and fans who inspire us every day.”
The statement does not detail specific plans for EA’s studios, upcoming releases, or staffing levels. EA now answers to its new owners instead of public shareholders, having traded on the Nasdaq since 1989.
Inside the EA $55 billion buyout deal
- Total deal value: $55 billion, the largest leveraged buyout on record
- Debt financing: $20 billion, arranged by JPMorgan
- Lead investors: Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners
- CEO: Andrew Wilson stays on in his existing role
The Public Investment Fund already has a footprint in gaming through Savvy Games Group, its dedicated gaming arm. Savvy owns ESL FACEIT Group and holds stakes in several other publishers, and the EA acquisition extends that footprint to one of the industry’s largest studio owners.
Leveraged buyouts typically load the acquired company with a share of the debt used to fund its own purchase, and EA will carry part of that $20 billion on its balance sheet going forward. How EA services that debt, whether through cost cuts, higher-margin releases, or heavier monetization, could shape decisions across the business over the next several years.
Nearly a year passed between the deal’s announcement in 2025 and this week’s close, time typically spent on shareholder votes and antitrust clearance for a transaction of this size. Neither EA nor the consortium has said which specific approvals held up the timeline.
What comes next for EA’s games
Push Square’s Sammy Barker covered the deal’s completion and expects EA to lean further into its most consistent sellers, Battlefield, Madden, and EA Sports FC, rather than fund new experimental projects. Barker also raised questions about monetization in EA’s live-service games and the size of its workforce once new owners settle into the business.
Those effects, if they arrive, are unlikely to show up immediately. The consortium has not laid out a public roadmap for EA’s studios or said how it plans to run the business day to day. Any changes to development priorities or staffing would likely take shape over months rather than weeks, and EA still expects its next major releases, including its annual sports titles, to ship on their usual schedules.