Electronic Arts takeover resets the buyout game

Viewsroom

Reuters

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4.4 • 58 Ratings

🗓️ 9 October 2025

⏱️ 20 minutes

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Summary

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign fund and private equity firm Silver Lake are pouring vast resources into their $55 bln acquisition of the ‘FC’ videogame developer. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how the record deal turns received M&A wisdom on its head. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt-out of targeted advertising.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:00.0	Hi, just leave on work now. Sorry, it's a bit loud.
0:03.3	Um, basically, so I was thinking we could get Macies tonight. Had a big Mac on my mind all day. And delivery fee on the app is now from 99P. So you win? Of course you are. Love you. Bye. Exclusively on the McDonald's app. 18 plus, service fee and small order fee may apply. Participating restaurants. Serving times and teas and seas apply. The views expressed on this podcast are those of the participants, not of Roger's News.
0:27.3	So it's surprising because it's big.
0:29.9	It's surprising because of the moment it comes in.
0:32.4	And the answer to unlock some of those mysteries kind of lie in Saudi Arabia, really, I think.
0:40.3	Video games are now serious business. Loved by teenagers around the world, and now, funnily enough, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia,
0:45.3	video games are at the heart of a mega buyout.
0:48.3	Last week, Electronic Arts, the developer of sports, shooter and life simulation games,
0:52.3	agreed to sell itself for $55 billion
0:54.5	to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's public investment fund and tech buyout firm Silver Lake
0:59.8	partners. The numbers are huge, and they seem to run counter to the relatively subdued
1:05.3	M&A environment we've been stuck in ever since interest rates jacked up in 2022. The price tag includes a 25% premium.
1:12.7	The $20 billion debt package is nearly seven times the company's EBITDA, and yet it also implies
1:18.4	an enormous $36 billion equity check. The deal made history. It's now the world's largest
1:25.5	buyout, finally surpassing the $45 billion
1:28.0	takeover of US Utility TXU in 2007. Just before, famously, the financial crisis
1:34.4	kicked off and seemed to snuff out a lot of these kind of big, meaty buyouts. So,
1:40.3	what does the audacious deal tell us about animal spirits in the world of private equity?
1:44.4	Does it make sense? Or are buyout animal spirits in the world of private equity? Does it make sense?
1:45.7	Or are buyout barons repeating the mistakes of the past?
1:48.6	All of this and more in this week's Views Room.
1:52.6	It's Jonathan, and unfortunately Amy couldn't be with us this week, but you are very welcome back to the viewsroom,
	...

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