Sep 27, 2025 15:00:00

Reports say Electronic Arts (EA), makers of Apex Legends and the FC series, will be acquired for 7.5 trillion yen

Electronic Arts (EA), the gaming giant behind the popular EA Sports FC series of soccer games, is in final-stage negotiations to take the company private through a major acquisition, The Wall Street Journal reported. The deal could be worth around $50 billion (approximately 7.5 trillion yen).

Exclusive | Electronic Arts Nears Roughly $50 Billion Deal to Go Private - WSJ
https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/ea-private-deal-buyout-video-game-maker-808aefec

Electronic Arts will reportedly be acquired for $50B | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/26/electronic-arts-will-reportedly-be-acquired-for-50b/

EA is a game publisher and maker that sells the FC series, as well as annual sports game series such as Madden NFL and NBA LIVE , and popular game series such as The Sims , Apex Legends , and Battlefield .

The acquisition of EA is reportedly being pursued by an investment group consisting of

Silver Lake , a US private equity fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, and Affinity Partners , an investment firm run by Jared Kushner , son-in-law of President Donald Trump. Affinity Partners is an investment firm that raises funds from Middle Eastern investors, including PIF.

If the acquisition goes through, it could be the largest leveraged buyout ever. However, at the time of writing, the acquisition price has not yet been finalized and is reportedly still in the negotiation stage. The acquisition may be announced once the negotiations are concluded, which could happen as early as the fifth week of September.

The Wall Street Journal points out that, as an investment trend, large acquisitions are increasingly being led by government-affiliated funds and other large investors, rather than traditional consortia of multiple private equity firms. This is said to be an attempt to reduce the risk of strategic conflicts between owners. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, PIF, continues to invest heavily in the gaming industry, and has invested in not only EA but also Take-Two Interactive , known for the Grand Theft Auto series, and Scopely , the world's second-largest mobile video game developer by revenue.

If the acquisition of EA by PIF and other investment groups goes through, EA will be delisted and become a private company.

Following this news, EA's stock price rose by about 15% from the previous day, and its market capitalization was reported to have swelled to about $48 billion (about 7.2 trillion yen).

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Saudi Arabian investment fund acquires major game maker EA for over 8 trillion yen, largest LBO ever - GIGAZINE