Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will allegedly own more than 93.4% of Electronic Arts if its acquisition of the company is successful.
The Wall Street Journal reports that, per a filing with the Brazilian anti-trust regulator, the PIF will own almost all of the US publishing giant once the go-private deal is completed. The other parties in the consortium acquiring Electronic Arts – Silver Lake and Affinity Partners – will own 5.5% and 1.1% respectively.
The Public Investment Fund is also a “significant investor” in both Affinity Partners and Silver Lake, the other parties in the consortium. The cumulative effect is that the Saudi Arabia PIF will effectively own EA outright.
At the end of September, it was reported that Electronic Arts was being acquired by the consortium for $55 billion with the news being officially announced later that same day. The deal is set to close in the first quarter of EA’s 2027 financial year, ending June 30th, 2026. While it has not passed regulatory approvals yet, Affinity Partners was created and is operated by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US president Donald Trump, which is expected to make things easier for the consortium.
CEO Andrew Wilson is going to stay on as Electronic Arts’ chief executive officer. In a memo to staff, EA said that deal will not change how it operates, saying that its “mission, values, and commitment to players and fans around the world remain unchanged,” adding that “EA will maintain creative control, and our track record of creative freedom and player-first values will remain intact.”
In November, the New York Times reported that the Public Investment Fund was allegedly running low on cash for new investments. This is due to a number of projects it is involved in being in “financial distress”, though none of these are related to its numerous games investments including Scopely, Embracer Group and major shareholdings in Take-Two and Nintendo.
