Video game publisher Electronic Arts (EA), one of the biggest video game companies in the world behind games such as The Sims and Battlefield, has been sold to a consortium of buyers for US$55 billion (about A$83 billion). It is potentially the largest-ever buyout funded by private equity firms. Not AI, nor mining or banking, but video games.
The members of the consortium include: Silver Lake Partners, an American private global equity firm focusing on technology; the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund; and the investment firm Affinity Partners, run by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of American President Donald Trump.
The consortium will purchase all of the publicly traded company’s shares, making it private. But while the consortium and EA’s shareholders will likely be celebrating – each share was valued at US$210, representing a 25% premium – it’s not all good news.
