Electronic Arts (EA), the iconic creator of Madden NFL, The Sims, and Battlefield, is set to be acquired in a $55 billion deal, marking the largest leveraged buyout in history. The transaction, announced Monday, will take EA private after 36 years as a publicly traded company and underscores a broader trend of consolidation within the struggling video game sector.
The acquisition consortium includes private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF), and Affinity Partners, the private equity firm led by Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law. Under the deal, EA shareholders will receive $210 per share. The total value surpasses the $32 billion paid to take Texas utility TXU private in 2007, highlighting the scale of the transaction.
Founded in 1982 by former Apple employee William “Trip” Hawkins, EA went public seven years later, with its first trading day shares priced at a split-adjusted 52 cents. Andrew Wilson has served as CEO since 2013, overseeing a company whose annual revenues have stagnated around $7.4 billion to $7.6 billion over the past three fiscal years.
Going private will allow EA to restructure and make strategic moves without the pressures of quarterly earnings scrutiny. While the company maintains a loyal fan base, its growth has lagged compared to rivals. Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for nearly $69 billion in 2023, and mobile gaming competitors such as Epic Games continue to challenge traditional console and PC developers.
This is the second high-profile technology acquisition involving Silver Lake in recent weeks. The firm is also part of a joint venture with Oracle in a complex deal to take over U.S. oversight of TikTok, while its prior buyouts include Skype in 2009 and Dell in 2013. Dell later returned to the public markets in 2018 after restructuring.
Historically, going private can involve cost-cutting measures, including layoffs, though no immediate plans have been announced for EA. The company reduced its workforce by about 5% in 2024 and laid off several hundred employees in May 2025, leaving roughly 14,500 staff members as of March.
The move reflects both the challenges and opportunities within the video game industry: firms must adapt to changing consumer tastes, intensifying competition, and the ongoing growth of mobile and cloud gaming. Analysts say taking EA private could provide the flexibility needed to revitalize its operations, develop new intellectual property, and strengthen its existing franchises without public-market pressures.
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