EA Take-Private Closes; Investors Collect $210/Share

What happened

Electronic Arts has been acquired by a Saudi-led consortium comprising the Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners for $55 billion, cementing the largest video game industry leveraged buyout. The deal, which closed on August 5, 2026, overcame months of regulatory scrutiny, including CFIUS review on national security grounds, and political pressure around Saudi control of U.S. user data and AI assets. Shareholders approved the $210 per share all-cash offer in late 2025, and the transaction now finalizes EA’s transition from a publicly traded company to private ownership. With the close, any remaining merger-arbitrage spread has evaporated, and investors who held through completion have realized the full offer value. The involvement of Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners adds a high-profile political dimension but does not alter the financial outcome for EA shareholders.

Implication

With the deal closed at $210 per share, the investment case no longer exists. Short-term holders should have already trimmed near the offer price, and any residual positions will simply receive the cash payout. The underlying fundamentals—softening live-service cash flows and heavy debt loading—are now a private-equity concern, not a public-market proposition. Those who maintained exposure through the regulatory thicket have captured the spread, but there is no rationale to hold or re-enter given the lack of liquidity and upside. Capital should be redeployed elsewhere.

Thesis delta

The merger-arbitrage thesis has concluded with the deal’s closing. Previously, the thesis centered on a ~3% spread to the $210 bid against 20%+ downside if the deal broke; now the deal is done, removing all risk and reward. No further investment thesis remains for EA public equity.