According to new filings, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is set to own the vast majority of EA if the proposed record-breaking acquisition goes through.
These filings, discovered by the Wall Street Journal, have been made to Brazilian antitrust regulators. These filings suggest that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund would own 93.4 percent of the video game publisher.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is making this attempt to acquire EA alongside private equity funds Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, the latter founded and owned by Jarred Kushner – son-in-law to President Donald Trump. Silver Lake would own 5.5 percent, while Affinity Partners would own 1.1 percent.
First announcing their intent in September, these plans have been protested by both video game unions and human rights groups. The acquisition itself is record breaking due to the absurd $55bn cost attached to taking the video game giant private. Of that $55bn, $20bn is in debt.
Still, they are expected to proceed smoothly according to reports. That being said, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund may be a little strapped for cash at the moment. The Public Investment Fund will still need to put up billions of dollars to actually take ownership of EA once it is approved over the next year or so.
CEO of EA Andrew Wilson spoke on the deal, stating: “Our creative and passionate teams at EA have delivered extraordinary experiences for hundreds of millions of fans, built some of the world’s most iconic IP, and created significant value for our business. This moment is a powerful recognition of their remarkable work.”
During these early months post-announcement, Bioware came out during N7 day to remind folks that a new Mass Effect game is still in development.
