Electronic Arts' (EA) new chapter as a privately owned company is beginning with optimism from management, but also growing concern among employees after reports that the video game giant plans hundreds of millions of dollars in cost cuts following its $55 billion acquisition by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The deal, which officially closed this week, takes the publisher of EA Sports FC, Madden NFL, The Sims, and Battlefield off the Nasdaq and into private ownership under a consortium comprising PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, the investment firm founded by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.
