The acquisition of Electronic Arts by a consortium led by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) has taken another significant step towards completion. The European Commission has officially approved the purchase under the EU Merger Regulation, finding no grounds for an in-depth antitrust investigation.
In its published decision, the European Commission stated that the deal does not raise competition concerns, as its impact on the markets where the parties operate is limited. The regulator noted that the acquisition was reviewed under the standard merger and acquisition review procedure.
Plans for the acquisition of Electronic Arts by a consortium, which includes Silver Lake and Affinity Partners in addition to PIF, were announced last year. Initially, it was expected that the deal would close by the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2027. However, this mention subsequently disappeared from EA's financial reports, and the company currently does not name a new estimated completion date for the deal.
After the deal closes, Electronic Arts will assume approximately $20 billion in new debt, which will be one of the largest financial obligations in the publisher's history.