October 2 – EA Sports, the studio behind the newly-released EA Sports FC26 video game, has been sold in a $55bn deal to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake and Affinity Partners.
The agreement, which will take EA private after more than three decades on the stock exchange, reportedly marks the largest leveraged buyout in gaming history and the second biggest deal in the sector in the wake of Microsoft’s $69bn purchase of Activision Blizzard in January 2022.
The sale values EA at $210 a share, a 25% premium on last week’s closing price. Around $36bn of the price will come from the investors themselves, with the remaining $20bn financed through debt. EA Chief Executive Andrew Wilson will remain in post, describing the acquisition as “a powerful recognition” of the company’s position in global entertainment.
EAFC (formerly FIFA) is not just a game; it is the sport’s most influential digital asset. For a generation of fans, including myself once upon a time, it is the entry point to football. Children often know players first through their in-game ratings before they ever see them live.
Sponsorship activations, player branding, esports competitions, and even grassroots engagement are all driven by EA’s reach. It is football’s most powerful cultural export – one that sells the idea of the game as much as the game itself.
That power now lies in the hands of the same sovereign wealth fund that bankrolls the Saudi Pro League, LIV Golf and a raft of other sporting properties.
With esports competitions, streaming content and cross-over sponsorships also in consideration, EA Sports is as much a part of football’s cultural fabric as it is of gaming.
Industry jokes have already made the rounds – “LIV Golf 24” and “Saudi Pro League Manager” as EA’s next titles – but behind the humour sits a serious reality.
Football’s most influential brand in the digital sphere now has the same owner as the fastest-expanding league in the real one. That alignment is unlikely to be coincidental.
For Saudi Arabia, the acquisition fits into a wider strategy to diversify the Kingdom’s economy and invest in global entertainment. Through its Savvy Games Group, PIF has already committed billions into esports and game development, positioning itself as a major player in the industry, most recently hosting the Esports World Cup in Riyadh this summer.
Securing the EA deal adds a publisher with worldwide reach and one of football’s most recognisable digital brands.
The new ownership group has pledged to support EA in expanding its presence in emerging markets and deepening its role in fan engagement – something which Saudi are used to as the fastest developing league in world football.
While questions remain about the financial structure of the deal and how the debt will be managed, the resources now backing EA are significant.
For football itself, the story is more pointed: the sport’s “digital front door” – the product through which millions first connect to players, teams and leagues – has just become another piece of Saudi Arabia’s sporting portfolio, for better or for worse.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1759405168labto1759405168ofdlr1759405168owedi1759405168sni@g1759405168niwe.1759405168yrrah1759405168
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