Electronic Arts Goes Private in $55 Billion Deal

Gaming giant Electronic Arts (EA) announced that its acquisition by a group of investors is complete, with the company now privately owned.

“This moment recognizes the extraordinary people whose creativity, ambition, and passion have made EA one of the world’s leading interactive entertainment companies,” Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson said. “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.”

EA revealed last September that it was being acquired by a consortium of investors that include the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners for $55 billion in an all-cash transaction. The PIF reportedly now owns 93.4 percent of EA, and the deal is the largest leveraged buyout ever, with $20 billion in debt financing. Though this isn’t quite as big as Microsoft’s $68 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, it’s likely that EA will see similarly major changes in the months and years ahead.

EA stockholders will receive $210 in cash for each share of EA common stock they owned at the time the deal closed. Effective immediately, EA stock is no longer traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

EA shared a memo it sent to employees this morning explaining that the company’s mission is unchanged.

“Together we’ll continue building the world’s greatest games, communities, and creative culture,” Mr. Wilson wrote in the memo. “The future of entertainment is still being written, and I couldn’t be more excited to write that next chapter together.”