Saudi Backed Deal Could Merge EA with Savvy Games
It’s been just over a month since Sims, Apex Legends, and Madden publisher Electronic Arts was officially acquired by a private equity conglomerate consisting of the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake Partners, and private equity firm Affinity Partners, owned by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Bloomberg’s report says that PIF executives are considering plopping the biggest publisher in the world into its growing firm to “ensure better coordination between its assets.” As of today, no final decisions have been made, but any such deal will likely be kept on hold until Savvy acquires Chinese mobile gaming business Moontown for $6 billion.
If the Saudi wealth fund proceeds, it would give it a single vehicle to make acquisitions and develop games, rather than having multiple subsidiaries operating independently. This hypothetical merger would likely run into legal troubles, as it would raise antitrust inquiries similar to the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard acquisition.
EA staff have reportedly been kept in the dark about the implications, and many expect a wave of layoffs across studios under the company’s umbrella.
