Electronic Arts has announced plans to sell itself to a consortium of investors led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners (formed by President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner). The deal is worth about $55 billion and will be the largest take-private investment in history.

Electronic Arts (EA) has confirmed it will be acquired by an investor group comprising Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silverlake, and Affinity Partners, in a deal valued at approximately $55 billion. The agreement will see the group acquire 100% of EA, with PIF rolling over its existing 9.9% stake. EA shareholders will receive $210 per share in cash, representing a significant premium over recent share prices. 

Following the completion of the transaction, EA's common stock will be delisted from public markets, and the company will continue to be led by CEO Andrew Wilson from its Redwood City, California headquarters. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of EA's 2027 fiscal year, pending regulatory and stockholder approvals. The acquisition will be funded through a combination of equity and debt financing, with major contributions from the investor group and JPMorgan Chase Bank.

Electronic Arts goes private in massive $55 billion deal

What's up everybody, Damian here and in today's gaming news, EA is going private, former GTA writer Dan Houser shares some secrets from his time at Rockstar, and the Fortnite emote has been removed. This is your Daily Fix. EA has confirmed it has agreed to be acquired by an investor group composed of PIF, Silverlake, and Affinity Partners in a transaction valued at approximately 55 billion dollars. It's the largest all-cash sponsor take private investment in history. Under the terms of the agreement, the group will acquire 100% of EA, with Saudi Arabia's public investment fund rolling over its existing 9.9% stake in the company. EA stakeholders will receive $210 per share in cash. The per share purchase price represents a 25% premium to EA's unaffected share price of $168.32 at market close on September 25th, and a premium to EA's unaffected all-time high of $179.01 at market close on August 14th. Following the close of the transaction, EA's common stock will no longer be listed on any public market. Andrew Wilson, EA chairman and CEO, commented, Our creative and passionate teams at EA have delivered extraordinary experiences for hundreds of millions of fans, built some of the world's most iconic IP, and created significant value for our business. This moment is a powerful recognition of their remarkable work. Looking ahead, we will continue to push the boundaries of entertainment, sports, and technology, unlocking new opportunities. Together with our partners, we will create transformative experiences to inspire generations to come. I am more energized than ever about the future we are building. EA will continue to be led by Wilson and will remain headquartered in Redwood City, California. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027, subject to regulatory and stockholder approvals. The transaction will be funded by a combination of cash from each of PIF, Silverlake, and Affinity partners, the latter of which is an American investment firm based in Miami, Florida, and formed in 2021 by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law. Combined, the deal is for an equity investment of approximately $36 billion and $20 billion of debt financing fully and solely committed by JPMorgan Chase Bank, $18 billion of which is expected to be funded at close. Each of PIF, Silverlake, and Affinity partners plan to fund the equity component of the financing entirely from capital under their respective control, the company said. The enormous sale comes just days before EA releases Battlefield 6, a crucial launch for the company, and hot on the heels of FC-26 and Skate. EA games in development include Mass Effect at BioWare, Star Wars Jedi 3 at Respawn, and Iron Man at Motive. Moving on, Rockstar Games co-founder and writer of almost all of the Grand Theft Auto games released to date, Dan Hauser, has confirmed that he had no involvement in GTA 6, but he insisted the game's story will be great even though it's, quote, not going to be a story I wrote or a character set that I developed. He continued, I think it's a great privilege to have worked on something that big. I wrote the last 10 or 11 of them. I think the world probably had enough GTA from me, he said in an exclusive interview with IGN at LA Comic Con over the weekend. Dan Hauser also wrote Red Dead Redemption 2, and in the same interview he told IGN that, Red Dead 2, I think, was the best thing that I worked on. The best single kind of realization of open world storytelling, thematic consistency, and understanding how the games are assembled to take you on an emotional journey. Hauser also explained why we never got Bully 2, chalking the issue up to bandwidth issues. He explained, you know, if you've got a small lead creative team and a small senior leadership crew, you just can't do all the projects you want. And finally today, Fortnite has swiftly disabled the game's Peaceful Hips emote, a collaboration with James Gunn and John Cena's Peacemaker series, following a bombshell twist at the end of the show's most recent episode. Spoiler warning for Peacemaker season 2 episode 6. So Peacemaker's latest episode revealed that the show's alternate Earth 2 setting was in fact a fascist Nazi world where the U.S. flag features a swastika. Many fans now say Peacemaker had subtly pointed to this twist the whole season, as Cena's dance in the show's opening credits include arm movements suggestive of a swastika, the same dance moves seen in the Peaceful Hips emote. Epic Games wrote on its Fortnite status social media account, we're disabling the Peaceful Hips emote in Fortnite as we inquire into our partner's creative intentions in this collab emote. Assuming it's not coming back, we'll issue refunds in the next few days. Sorry folks. Epic Games' statement doesn't sound positive for the emote remaining in Fortnite, but what's even more extraordinary is the suggestion that the developer, who worked closely with DC Studios on the collaboration, was left to discover the dance's true nature alongside audiences, and was now scrambling to get an explanation. And that's your daily fix for Monday, September 29th. Heads up that Humble Games has brought Lost Skies to full 1.0 release, available now on the Humble store and Steam. Lost Skies is a cooperative survival adventure set high above the clouds in a vast world of floating islands. Explore the remnants of ancient civilizations, uncover the mysteries of their downfall, and harness their advanced technology to survive and thrive. Build and customize your own skyship to serve as both home and warship, battle colossal skyborne threats, and weather dangerous storms. With seamless traversal using climbing, gliding, and a physics-based grappling hook, every landmark on the horizon is within reach as you shape your own survival story. Lost Skies is out now with a 25% launch discount on the Humble store, and Humble Choice subscribers can save up to an additional 20% off the launch discount. I'm Damon Hatfield, and for all your video game news, stay tuned to IGN.

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