The acquisition, which lasted several months, was finally settled. Electronic Arts (EA) officially announced that the previously announced US$5.5 billion (approximately NT$165 billion/approximately HK$43.1 billion/approximately RM23.3 billion) acquisition transaction has been officially completed, and the company’s equity has been officially transferred to a consortium of Scopely and private equity funds supported by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), which means that “The Well-known IPs such as “The Sims”, “Battlefield” and “Dragon Age” have now received new owners.
The US$5.5 billion transaction officially concluded!
This transaction was first announced earlier this year, and has been successively approved by regulatory agencies such as the United States and the European Union. Now that all procedures have been officially completed, EA has also officially completed its privatization, ending its status as a listed company for many years. In the future, the company will be jointly held by Scopely and co-investors, and Scopely itself has already been acquired by Savvy Games Group, a subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, in 2023. Therefore, it is generally believed that EA has officially been included in the Saudi game investment map.
Players won’t feel the change
EA stated that after the transaction is completed, there will be no immediate changes to the company’s studios and game development plans, and the game services and operations familiar to players will remain normal. However, as Saudi Arabia has continued to expand into the global gaming market through large-scale investment in recent years, this acquisition has still triggered discussions among many players. Some people expect EA to receive more financial support, while others are worried about whether the company’s future strategy and development direction will be affected.