The Biggest Buyout in Gaming History Just Cleared a Major Checkpoint

Company: Electronic Arts  |  Buyer Consortium: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, Affinity Partners  |  Deal Value: $55 billion  |  EU Decision: July 23, 2026

The European Commission has cleared the $55 billion buyout of Electronic Arts. This removes one of the last major regulatory hurdles before the deal can close. Only a review by the US Committee on Foreign Investment now stands in the way.

What the EU Actually Said

The European Commission approved the consortium’s takeover of EA under standard merger control rules. According to its official statement, the investigation found the deal raises no competition concerns. Regulators said it would have only limited impact on the markets where EA and its buyers operate.

The news wasn’t a total surprise. Reuters had already reported, citing internal sources, that Brussels planned to approve the deal without objections. That report turned out to be accurate just days later.

Where the Deal Stands Now

EA shareholders approved the buyout back in December 2025, with roughly 99 percent voting in favor. Since then, the deal has moved through its regulatory approvals one by one. The EU’s sign-off leaves only CFIUS review as the final major checkpoint, with a contractual deadline of September 28, 2026.

• Prix : $210 per share in cash, a 25 percent premium over EA’s unaffected share price
• Financing: Roughly $36 billion in equity from the consortium, plus $20 billion in debt financing from JPMorgan Chase
• Scale: The largest all-cash leveraged buyout in corporate history, surpassing the 2007 TXU buyout
• US pushback: Several American lawmakers have urged the FTC to investigate the deal’s broader economic implications

What Changes for EA

Once the deal closes, EA will leave the Nasdaq and become a private company. Andrew Wilson will stay on as CEO, and the studio will remain headquartered in Redwood City. Analysts expect EA to lean more heavily on its biggest franchises after the sale.

That shift comes down to debt. The consortium is borrowing heavily to fund the deal, and this will push EA’s leverage above $20 billion. Servicing that debt is likely to sharpen the company’s focus on its most reliable, highest-earning franchises.

Notably, EA hasn’t detailed its future strategy publicly. The company has only pointed to the “new strategic possibilities” the deal could unlock, without offering specifics. That silence is likely to continue until the transaction fully closes.

Résultat final

Brussels’ approval is a genuine milestone, not a finish line. One regulatory body with real power to complicate the deal, CFIUS, still hasn’t ruled. If it clears the buyout before the September deadline, EA’s 36-year run as a public company will end for one of gaming’s largest publishers.