Electronic Arts says every regulatory approval needed to complete its $55 billion acquisition by a Saudi-led investor group has been obtained, and the deal should close on or about the end of trading on August 4, 2026. The company disclosed the milestone in an SEC filing published July 30, 2026. VGC

The buyout will take EA private, ending a run on the NASDAQ stock exchange that began in March 1990. Once complete, it will be the largest leveraged buyout — a deal financed largely with borrowed money — in history.

EA, the publisher behind FIFA (now EA Sports FC), The Sims, Apex Legends and Battlefield, entered into the merger agreement with the investor consortium on September 28, 2025, and filed disclosure with the SEC the following day.

The consortium is made up of three parties. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, or PIF — the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, headquartered at the Public Investment Fund Tower in Riyadh — will own 93.4% of EA. Silver Lake, a major American private-equity firm, will hold 5.5%. Affinity Partners, which will own the remaining 1.1%, is an investment firm founded by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law, with most of its funding coming from the Saudi government.

The PIF has spent years building a gaming portfolio. The fund already holds large stakes in Nintendo, Capcom, Nexon and other major publishers, making EA by far its biggest single acquisition in the sector.

For players, the practical effects may not be immediate. EA's leadership has not announced changes to release schedules, studio structures or game development tied to the deal. The company's biggest franchises — EA Sports FC, Madden NFL, The Sims — continue to operate on their established cadences. But a privately held EA will no longer face the quarterly pressure of public-market earnings calls, where executives must justify spending and timing to shareholders. That shift can change how a publisher invests in long-term projects, or how patient it is with a game that needs more time.

The merger is structured through parent and merger subsidiary entities formed by the consortium. The documentation also included a voting and support agreement between EA and the PIF alongside the main merger agreement.

Completion still depends on the satisfaction or waiver of remaining customary closing conditions — standard legal and financial steps that accompany transactions of this size.

Once those are cleared and trading closes on August 4, EA will cease to be a publicly traded company after more than 36 years on the NASDAQ.