Electronic Arts to go private next week

Electronic Arts (EA) has announced that its $55 billion deal to become a private company will close by August 4. The company disclosed this in an 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as seen by Variety. EA expects the merger to complete around the close of trading on August 4.

Last year, EA revealed that it would be acquired by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners in what has been described as the largest leveraged buyout ever. All regulatory approvals required for the merger were obtained as of July 30, according to the company.

Andrew Wilson will continue as CEO, and the headquarters will remain in Redwood City, California. The closing, about a month later than originally planned, marks the end of EA's 35-year history as a publicly traded company.

Like many developers and publishers, EA has been affected by challenges reshaping the video game industry. In recent years, the company has laid off employees, canceled upcoming titles, closed studios, and put the Need for Speed franchise on hold. Despite that, EA has enjoyed recent success, with Battlefield 6 becoming a major hit since its release last October.

EA is one of the world's largest gaming companies, posting $7.5 billion in revenue last year and owning franchises such as EA Sports, The Sims, Madden NFL, Titanfall, and EA Sports FC. The company ended its involvement with FIFA soccer in 2023, a fact that has gained new relevance in light of FIFA's recent troubled private equity efforts.