EA Announces Completion of Acquisition by PIF, Silver Lake and Affinity Parters as New Owners Commit to AI

Electronic Arts' acquisition by a consortium of private entities, first announced in September 2025, is now complete. The company, one of the largest makers and publishers of video games, announced Tuesday that private equity firm Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, and American investment firm Affinity Partners had successfully closed the acquisition.

After decades of being publicly listed, EA, which owns popular franchises like Battlefield and EA Sports FC, has gone private with a record-breaking leveraged buyout deal, valued at $55 billion. In a press release announcing the completion of the acquisition, EA said its private ownership would bring “long-term capital” to support the company's "next chapter.”

The private consortium, however, also brings a considerable amount of debt. EA's acquisition was backed by an equity investment of around $36 billion, along with $20 billion of debt financing committed by JPMorgan. EA's non-convertible debt in 2026 before the completion of the acquisition stood at $1.485 billion.

New Owners Back AI in Game Development

The new owners are betting on AI to help cut operating costs and manage the $20 billion debt. People involved in the deal told FT last year that AI-based cost cuts would boost EA's profits significantly in the coming years.

In the acquisition announcement, Silver Lake has notably mentioned the new ownership's commitment to AI and its usage in game development.

“As long-term investors in technology, we admire how EA's innovation fuels imagination and human connection,” said Egon Durban, CEO and managing partner of Silver Lake. “We're proud to join with PIF and Affinity Partners to invest heavily in EA's growth, including what AI can do to enhance game development and player experience, and excited to partner with Andrew and the EA team as they raise the bar for fans everywhere.”

CEO Andrew Wilson claimed EA would begin its stint as a private company from a position of “strength.”

“We're entering this next chapter from a position of strength with partners who share our vision and ambition,” Wilson said in a statement. “Together, we'll invest boldly, accelerate innovation, and build the next generation of games and experiences for the hundreds of millions of players and fans who inspire us every day.”

Saudi's PIF now owns a 93.4 percent stake in EA, with Silver Lake and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners holding 5.5 and 1.1 percent of the shares, respectively. With the buyout now complete, EA stockholders will receive $210 in cash for each share of EA common stock they owned as of the closing, the company said. EA is no longer a publicly traded firm and will be delisted from NASDAQ.

EA announced it was going private in September 2025, just ahead of the launch of Battlefield 6, which went on to become one of the best-selling games of 2025. Despite the game's “record-breaking success,” the company announced earlier this year that it was cutting jobs across Criterion, Dice, Ripple Effect, and Motive Studios — the teams that worked on Battlefield 6.