News of a PIF-backed take-private agreement of US-based gaming giant Electronic Arts (EA) in the works has been making the rounds in local and international business press. The reportedly planned take-private of the Nasdaq-listed videogame maker, estimated to reach a whopping USD 50 bn, could be unveiled in the coming days, and would rank among the largest transactions this year, if not the biggest leveraged buyout on record, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people it said are familiar with the matter.

Who’s buying? Sources say the PIF is to be working with a consortium that includes US tech private equity firm Silver Lake Management and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners. The sovereign wealth fund already holds roughly 10% of EA and committed about USD 2 bn to Affinity .

JP Morgan is reportedly arranging more than USD 20 bn in debt financing to back the agreement, the sources said. JP Morgan drew early interest from investors willing to commit capital to the financing package, giving the bank scope to start lining up an order book.

Flat growth: EA boasts one of the industry’s deepest content libraries with about 700 mn user accounts, anchored by annual franchises such as EA Sports FC (formerly FIFA), Madden NFL, and Battlefield, according to the FT. However, the gaming giant reported a 28% y-o-y drop in net income to USD 201 mn in its 1Q of 2026, which ended on 30 June, while revenue was broadly flat at USD 1.67 bn versus USD 1.66 bn a year earlier, according to its latest earnings (pdf).

Competition rising: The slump underscores the pressure from proliferating free-to-play titles such as Fortnite and Roblox, the salmon-colored paper wrote. The company still kept its guidance unchanged despite the drop, targeting USD 795-974 mn in net income on revenues of USD 7.1-7.5 bn.

What’s next for EA? The company is banking on live-service models, which already generate nearly three-quarters of its bookings, and is gearing up for the launch of the next installment of Battlefield later this year. Executives and analysts also see scope for generative AI to cut the mns of USDs it costs to produce blockbuster games, a potential lever for new private-equity owners.

What’s in it for the PIF? Saudi sees gaming as important for its diversification efforts under Vision 2030 and a way to expand its cultural footprint. “The [agreement] would cement games as cultural infrastructure — assets as critical to global influence as sports or film,” Joost van Dreunen, games professor at NYU Stern School of Business, told Reuters. The Kingdom’s investments in esports and competitive gaming saw it host the Esports World Cup recently and announcing plans to host a Nations Cup for national teams.

ICYMI- The find’s gaming and esports unit, Savvy Games Group, acquired US-based Scopely in 2023 for USD 4.9 bn, which subsequently purchased rights to sensational hit Pokémon Go and several other titles from Niantic in a USD 3.5 bn transaction that closed in March.

Market reax: The California-based firm saw its stock hike some 15% on Friday, closing the session at a record high of USD 193.35 apiece, raising its market value to USD 48 bn from USD 43 bn.

The story was also picked up by Bloomberg.

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