PIF’s EA acquisition heads for closing after EU approval

The largest leveraged buyout in history is set to close this week after clearing its final regulatory hurdle. The European Commission approved PIF’s USD 55 bn acquisition of Electronic Arts (EA) under the bloc’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR). EA told the US Securities And Exchange Commission in a filing that all required approvals were in hand as of 30 July, with the merger expected to close on or about the end of trading on 4 August.

The subsidies review was the harder of the two European tests. EU merger clearance came through last week, but the FSR, designed to prevent non-EU state subsidies from distorting acquisitions inside the bloc, was always the more scrutinized path for a sovereign-fund-led consortium. Two earlier Gulf acquisitions in Europe, Adnoc’s purchase of Germany’s Covestro and e&’s bid for parts of Czech operator PPF, cleared only after extended investigations and remedies. PIF’s passed without conditions.

The consortium: PIF, Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners are acquiring EA through Oak-Eagle AcquireCo and Oak-Eagle MergerCo, the vehicles established when the merger agreement was signed in September 2025. EA survives as a wholly owned subsidiary.

The road to getting here: The consortium agreed in September 2025 to take EA private in the largest-ever leveraged buyout, backed by around USD 36.4 bn in equity, USD 20 bn in fully underwritten debt from JPMorgan, and PIF rolling over its existing 9.9% stake. Shareholders signed off on the move in December. JPMorgan placed USD 15 bn of the debt in March, drawing over USD 50 bn in orders. Efforts by a group of bondholders to block the financing failed.