Videogame Giant Electronic Arts Nears Roughly $50 Billion Deal to Go Private
Videogame maker
is in advanced talks to go private in a roughly $50 billion deal that would likely be the largest leveraged buyout of all time, according to people familiar with the matter.
A group of investors including private-equity firm Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Jared Kushner’s investment firm Affinity Partners could unveil a deal for the publisher best known for its sports games as soon as next week, the people said.
EA has long made games including FIFA, the soccer videogame now known as FC, and the football game Madden NFL as well as The Sims and other titles.
The California-based company had a market value of around $43 billion before The Wall Street Journal reported on the talks, which sent the stock up nearly 15% Friday. Its shares closed at $193.35, a record high, giving the company a market value of around $48 billion.
Discussions on price are still under way, but the deal could value EA at as much as $50 billion, two of the people said.
Assuming a deal comes together, it is likely to rank as the largest leveraged buyout ever, not adjusting for inflation. The largest to date was the 2007 purchase of Texas utility TXU by a group of private-equity firms for around $32 billion, which doesn’t include assumed debt, according to Dealogic.
TLDR: Arabs are gonna own EA meaning they will own FIFA and the Sims.