EU Clears Saudi PIF's $55B Electronic Arts Takeover — But US Scrutiny Remains

The European Commission has formally approved the $55 billion leveraged buyout of Electronic Arts, giving the green light to a deal that would hand majority ownership of one of the world's largest video game publishers to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners — the investment firm co-founded by Jared Kushner. The Commission announced its decision on July 23rd, 2026, concluding through its standard merger review procedure that the transaction does not raise competition concerns under EU Merger Regulation. The ruling specifically assessed whether the deal could significantly impede effective competition within EU markets and found the impact to be limited.

In its official statement, the Commission noted that the transaction would have only limited bearing on competition in the sectors where the involved parties currently operate. Under EU merger rules, deals that do not threaten to impede competition are approved unconditionally, while those that could harm businesses or consumers through reduced choice or elevated prices are either modified through agreed commitments or outright prohibited. EA's acquisition passed that threshold without requiring any such conditions from the merging parties.

Despite the EU's blessing, the deal is far from universally welcomed. Earlier in 2026, 46 US lawmakers co-signed a letter urging the Federal Trade Commission to open an investigation into the acquisition over fears it could prove damaging to EA's workforce and potentially violate American antitrust law. That request remains open, and the FTC has not yet publicly concluded its own review, meaning the buyout still has a meaningful regulatory hurdle left on home soil before it can be considered fully cleared.

The human dimension of this deal extends well beyond balance sheets and competition law. EA's employees would become majority-owned by a fund representing the government of Saudi Arabia — a regime that Amnesty International has repeatedly criticized for its human rights record, including the arbitrary detention and execution of individuals for expressing dissenting opinions, systematic abuse of migrant workers, and entrenched discrimination against women. The CIA has also assessed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a conclusion Saudi Arabia has denied.

For EA — a publisher behind massive franchises including FIFA (now EA Sports FC), The Sims, Battlefield, and Apex Legends — the ownership change would represent a seismic shift in corporate identity. The studio has already been navigating a turbulent period marked by significant layoffs and underwhelming commercial performances from several major titles. How incoming ownership from the PIF might influence development priorities, studio autonomy, and workforce conditions will be a defining question as the deal moves closer to its final stages.