EA shareholders approve $55 billion buyout that'll reportedly leave the Battlefield 6 and EA Sports FC developer and publisher in $20 billion debt

EA's shareholders have reportedly approved the $55 billion buyout from the group of investors led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

Earlier this year, it was confirmed that EA is going private following a buyout by a consortium of investors: Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners (founded by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of the current US President, Donald Trump). The Saudi Arabia PIF is expected to own a vast majority of the company, more specifically 93.4%, while Silver Lake and Affinity Partners would own 5.5% and 1.1%, respectively. EA has previously mentioned it expects the deal to close during Q1 of FY27 and has just passed its first hurdle.

As reported by Game File's Stephen Totilo on BlueSky, "EA's shareholders have officially approved EA's $55 billion sale to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund." This is the first step in the deal going through, as it will now have to be approved by government regulators, and based on the Microsoft Activision deal, it feels likely that the US, EU, and UK governments will weigh in on the buyout.

Given that the buyout will result in $20 billion being absorbed as debt for EA, many within the company are worried for its future, as one anonymous developer previously said, "We know, when the deal closes, it’s going to get worse before it gets better, if better is even possible," adding that "I’m nervous about what this means in terms of workforce once the deal is closed, as layoffs usually follow those type of acquisitions."

EA goes $20 billion in debt as part of its $55 billion buyout, and the BioWare fans who've already waited 8 years for Mass Effect 5 are terrified of how the company might cut costs