Saudi Wealth Fund and Kushner's Affinity Close $55B EA Sports Deal

One of the largest media and entertainment acquisitions in recent memory is now complete: EA Sports, the gaming giant behind franchises like FIFA and Madden NFL, has been taken private in a $55 billion deal involving Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Affinity Partners, the investment firm led by Jared Kushner. The transaction marks a significant moment in the ongoing consolidation of the global gaming industry, as sovereign wealth capital increasingly flows into digital entertainment.

EA confirmed that its shares have ceased trading and will be formally delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange. Shareholders received $210 in cash per share as part of the buyout, a clean exit price that reflects the premium typically demanded in high-profile take-private transactions of this scale. The delisting removes one of the most recognizable names in interactive entertainment from public markets entirely.

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The involvement of Affinity Partners — the firm Kushner founded after leaving the White House — alongside the Saudi Public Investment Fund underscores how Gulf sovereign capital has become a defining force in sports, media, and entertainment dealmaking. The PIF has already reshaped professional golf and global football through prior investments; absorbing a major video game publisher fits a broader strategy of diversifying away from oil revenues into high-growth consumer sectors.

For EA, going private could accelerate strategic pivots that public market scrutiny often makes difficult, including deeper investment in live-service games, licensing expansions, and potential restructuring. Whether the new ownership structure accelerates or complicates those goals remains an open question that the gaming industry will be watching closely in the months ahead.

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