EA to Be Privatized Aug. 4 in Saudi-Led Debt-Funded Buyout Deal
Electronic Arts is set to be taken private after the company’s planned departure from the stock market on August 4, ending more than three decades of public trading and shifting control to a Saudi-led investor group. The deal is structured as a heavily debt-funded buyout, leaving EA to carry a large share of the financing burden once the transaction closes.
Deal timeline: SEC filing, regulatory approvals, and the August 4 close
- September 29, 2025: The acquisition agreement is announced.
- December 22, 2025: Shareholders approve the transaction with roughly 99% voting in favor.
- June 2026: U.S. antitrust approval is granted.
- July 23, 2026: The European Commission clears the merger under case number M.12213.
- July 30, 2026: The EU’s state aid review is completed.
- July 30, 2026: EA reports to the U.S. SEC that all regulatory clearances for the investor consortium are already in place.
- August 4, 2026: The transaction is expected to be completed at the end of the trading day, unless standard closing conditions delay the schedule.
EA’s SEC update states that the required regulatory approvals had been received as of July 30, 2026. The company expects the buyout to close on August 4 at the market close, with only typical unresolved conditions potentially pushing the date back.
Who buys EA, and how the money is split
The purchase is led by a three-party consortium with sharply uneven ownership stakes. After closing, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) is expected to hold 93.4% of Electronic Arts, Silver Lake is set to take 5.5%, and Affinity Partners—run by Jared Kushner—is expected to hold 1.1%.
Brazilian antitrust filings cited in reporting indicate PIF already held 9.9% of EA before the deal and contributes that stake into the transaction rather than selling it off.
Shareholders will receive $210 in cash per share, representing a 25% premium over EA’s last unaffected closing price of $168.32.
From public company to private: Nasdaq exit and leadership continuity
With the completion of the transaction, EA is scheduled to end its Nasdaq listing after more than 35 years. Andrew Wilson is expected to remain as CEO, and EA’s headquarters will continue to be based in Redwood City.
A leveraged buyout means EA carries much of the debt
This is described as the largest leveraged buyout in history. In that structure, the credit funding is tied to the acquisition target rather than the buyers—meaning the debt is placed on EA’s balance sheet after the deal closes.
Of the $55 billion purchase price, approximately $20 billion is attributed to borrowed funds that will sit with EA, while the remaining roughly $36 billion is provided as equity by the consortium.
J.P. Morgan Chase is reported to have arranged the credit commitment independently and then marketed it to the capital markets starting in March 2026. The financing package is said to be divided into two credit tranches and three bond tranches denominated in both U.S. dollars and euros. The order book was reportedly about 45 billion dollars more than twice the amount ultimately needed.
For EA, the debt impact is significant. The company is expected to move from roughly $2.2 billion in debt to just over $20 billion. CreditSights is cited as estimating that EA’s leverage would rise from about one times EBITDA to roughly six times EBITDA.
The source also notes a historical comparison: TXU, a U.S. utility that previously held the record for a highly leveraged acquisition valued at $45 billion in 2007, filed for bankruptcy seven years later.
Interest costs and the squeeze on cash for games
The annual interest burden reported for EA’s new and existing debt stack is estimated at around $505 million per year based on the bond yield details. The figures include:
- 7.25% interest on $2.875 billion (about $209 million annually)
- 6.25% interest on €1.08 billion (about $67 million annually)
- 8.75% interest on an unsecured tranche of $2.5 billion (about $219 million annually)
In addition, the two variable-rate credit tranches totaling $11.375 billion are said to be priced using SOFR or Euribor plus 350 to 375 basis points. Together, these facilities are expected to be drawn to fund the $18 billion in debt required at closing.
EA reported $887 million in profit for fiscal year 2026 (as of March 31), alongside an operating income figure of $1.162 billion that was down 24% from the prior year. For players, the practical effect centers on cash generation: EA’s operating cash flow is reported as $2.553 billion. That cash would need to cover interest, principal repayments, and ongoing game development simultaneously.
What the move to private status could change for players
On August 5, players are not expected to see immediate changes. EA accounts, the EA app, and live-service titles such as EA Sports FC and Battlefield 6 are described as continuing as they are.
The more direct impact is indirect and tied to reporting. Once EA is no longer publicly traded, the company would stop issuing the quarterly and annual reports that outsiders used to track events like layoffs, studio closures, and pricing strategy shifts.
Cost-cutting was already underway. In March 2026, EA cut jobs at DICE, Criterion, Ripple Effect, and Motive—studios behind Battlefield 6—while, in the same business year, the company paid its chair CEO compensation of $38.65 million.
The source also references scrutiny around how game companies handle player data, including U.S. senators urging the U.S. Treasury in 2025 to conduct a stricter review, and human rights groups criticizing PIF’s public image management involving sports and entertainment. The report further claims that how the added debt load affects prices, microtransactions, and studio budgets is expected to become clearer starting with fiscal year 2027—though it would no longer be visible in public business reports once EA is private.
