Saudi PIF EA Stake and the Broader Implications for the Industry

A Takeover Defined by One Investor’s Overwhelming Dominance

The most striking element of the proposed US$55 billion acquisition of Electronic Arts is not the scale of the deal itself, but the extraordinary level of control one investor is set to wield.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is expected to walk away with roughly 93% of the company once the consortium-led purchase is complete, making the acquisition effectively synonymous with a PIF takeover.

The investment consortium comprises three groups: the Saudi PIF, US-based Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, the firm led by Jared Kushner. While the trio will collectively acquire 100% of EA and take the publisher private, the division is overwhelmingly weighted towards the PIF.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the fund is projected to hold 93.4% of Electronic Arts, leaving 5.5% to Silver Lake and 1.1% to Affinity Partners. The result is a future where EA’s strategic direction sits almost entirely in Saudi hands.

Financial Tightening Concerns Surface

Reports have surfaced suggesting that PIF may be navigating a period of short-term financial tightening, with several large-scale projects either delayed or scaled back. Yet analysts believe these pressures are unlikely to affect the EA acquisition.

The fund’s commanding stake signals a deliberate, high-priority investment, underscoring its ambition to broaden its footprint in global entertainment and gaming.

A stake of this size raises predictable concerns. Critics have questioned what it means for a major Western game publisher to fall under near-total control of a foreign state-backed fund. Questions around corporate independence, geopolitical influence, and long-term creative direction have surfaced.

Even so, no significant regulatory resistance has emerged publicly. Observers point to Saudi Arabia’s longstanding US relations and Kushner’s involvement as factors likely to smooth the approval process.

What Electronic Arts’ Future Looks Like

If the acquisition clears expected regulatory steps, Electronic Arts will revert to private ownership sometime after Q1 of fiscal year 2027, with the PIF effectively steering its future.

For a company responsible for shaping several of gaming’s most recognisable franchises, this level of concentrated ownership marks one of the most consequential shifts in its history and leaves major questions about strategy, investment, and creative direction in the years ahead.