It’s official: EA’s $55 billion deal to go private will close next week. The company has confirmed in a new SEC filing that the controversial deal has cleared all the required regulatory hurdles and will close on August 4. The deal will see a group of investors led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund take ownership of the company.
“As of July 30, 2026, all regulatory approvals required to complete the Merger have been obtained,” the company says in its SEC filing. “Electronic Arts currently expects the Merger to close on or about the close of trading on August 4, 2026. Completion of the Merger remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the remaining customary closing conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement.”
The deal will see Saudi Arabia’s PIF take ownership of 93.4% of EA’s shares, with 1.1% going to Affinity Partners, an investment firm led by US president Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The remaining 5.5% go to Silver Lake, another investment group.
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The European Commission cleared the deal under the EU Merger Regulation just last week, concluding that the “transaction would not raise competition concerns, given its limited impact on competition in the markets where the companies are active.”
The deal has been controversial on multiple fronts. Developers have worried about layoffs and studio closures. US senators have feared “foreign influence and national security risks.” And players have been concerned that the influence of Saudi Arabia’s PIF, which Human Rights Watch accuses of using sports and entertainment investments to “whitewash the country’s abysmal human rights record,” will dramatically impact EA’s willingness to continue developing inclusive games.
Despite Battlefield 6 layoffs, EA paid its CEO 305x more than its average employee last year thanks to an $8 million bonus increase — and he could net another $125 million in severance as buyout looms.
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