EA to be acquired by private equity in a 55 billion dollar deal, taking it private

This article contains references to the current political climate. While New Game Now commits to being largely apolitical in its reporting of video games and pop-culture. Certain headlines cannot be avoided when and if they are critical to the space.

Despite this, we still try to be as neutral as possible in our mission to keep everyone aware of what is happening in the space at any given time.

The video game giant EA (Electronic Arts) has now agreed to be acquired by a consortium of private investors, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Jared Kushner, the current United States President’s son-in-law.

The deal is valued at $55 billion US Dollars, about 25% above the current market cap.

As a result, the company will be taken private. Which means that none of their shares will be available on the public stock market.

Electronic Arts is most known for being the owner of several game development studios. Including but not limited to Dice, Maxis, BioWare, and Respawn Entertainment.

Through those studios, they have published popular video game franchises such as FIFA, The Sims, Battlefield, Apex Legends, and various Star Wars games.

According to industry expert Christopher Dring, to the BBC, an acquisition from private equity is a surprise and quote, “There’s a lot of industry anxiety around this deal.”

This is– certainly– an interesting update to the current video game landscape.