EU set to approve Saudi fund's $55 billion Electronic Arts deal

The European Commission is set to approve Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund-led $55 billion bid for Electronic Arts under the bloc’s foreign-subsidy rules, clearing a key hurdle for one of the biggest gaming takeovers ever. The deal would pay EA stockholders $210 a share in cash and hand control of the Redwood City, Calif., publisher to a consortium that also includes Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, the firm founded by Jared Kushner.

The transaction has become a high-profile test of the European Union’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation, which lets Brussels examine whether financial contributions from non-EU governments distort competition in the internal market. The investors sought subsidy approval on June 24, with a Commission decision expected by July 30, before the latest indication that clearance was imminent.

EA said in its 2025 announcement that the offer represented a 25% premium to its unaffected share price and called it the largest all-cash sponsor take-private investment in history. That matters because EA is not a niche target: its sports franchises, blockbuster titles and live-service games generate recurring revenue and sit at the center of global gaming distribution. One market note put PIF’s eventual stake at more than 93.4% if the deal closes, a level of control that would leave the Saudi fund with overwhelming influence over the company’s direction.

The scrutiny also reflects a broader shift in Europe’s approach to state-backed capital. The filing drew attention over an alleged unlimited state guarantee, the kind of support Brussels now wants to examine more closely when foreign governments or government-linked funds buy strategic assets. If the Commission clears the EA deal, it will show that the subsidy regime can be used to police foreign money without stopping a transaction that combines a sovereign wealth fund, a private-equity firm and a major U.S. consumer-tech brand.

For Saudi Arabia, the EA bid fits a wider push by PIF into sports, gaming and entertainment as the kingdom tries to diversify beyond oil and build global influence through marquee assets. For Brussels, approval would signal that the new crackdown has limits: state-backed money can still move through the bloc when regulators judge the competitive risk to be manageable. That precedent could make future sovereign-wealth deals easier across Europe, especially in gaming, entertainment, media and other strategic consumer-tech sectors where ownership, data and distribution carry as much weight as price.