Saudi Arabia to own almost all of EA under buyout plan, report says

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund could reportedly own nearly all of Electronic Arts Inc. under the buyout plan for the video game giant.

The Saudi fund would own 93.4% of Redwood City-based EA, according to a Wall Street Journal report Tuesday, which cited a recent filing with a Brazilian antitrust regulator. Private equity firm Silver Lake Partners would own 5.5% of the gaming company, while the Jared Kushner-run Affinity Partners would claim 1.1%, the Journal reported.

Representatives from EA, Silver Lake Partners and Affinity Partners did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

Announced in September, the $55-billion deal for EA would be the biggest leveraged buyout in history. The deal is expected to close next year, pending regulatory and shareholder approval.

EA has scheduled a meeting for shareholders to vote on the proposal later this month. If the deal is approved, the company known for “The Sims” and “Madden NFL” will go private.

The buyout offer comes as the video game industry has undergone consolidation and has struggled to return to the high growth rates it saw during the pandemic.

While video games remain popular, and some franchises are seeing success in their transition to film or series, EA’s annual revenues have been stagnant over the last three fiscal years, fluctuating between $7.4 billion and $7.6 billion.

Times staff writer Wendy Lee contributed to this report.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.