Jared Kushner’s private equity firm, Affinity Partners, along with a consortium of major investors, is reportedly in talks to purchase the video game company Electronic Arts. This potential acquisition could become one of the largest deals of its kind ever recorded, according to sources familiar with the discussions. Affinity Partners, in collaboration with investors like the Saudi sovereign wealth fund and Silver Lake Partners, aims to take the publicly traded company private. These confidential discussions suggest a deal valuing Electronic Arts, known for popular franchises such as Madden NFL and Battlefield, at approximately $50 billion.
The timing of these talks coincides with a resurgence of deal-making activity on Wall Street. Following a period of caution due to stock market volatility that emerged after President Trump’s tariff plans were introduced last spring, executives are now re-evaluating major transactions. Renewed optimism, fueled by soaring stock values and expectations of smoother regulatory approvals under the Trump administration, is driving this trend.
Recent months have seen several significant mergers and acquisitions, including Union Pacific’s $85 billion deal for Norfolk Southern and Keurig Dr Pepper’s $18 billion acquisition of Peet’s. Electronic Arts shares surged nearly 15 percent on Friday after initial reports of these talks, pushing its market value to approximately $48 billion.
The potential deal is expected to draw renewed attention to Affinity Partners, the firm founded by Mr. Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, following Mr. Trump’s first presidential term. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund, is a key investor in Affinity Partners. This relationship has previously faced scrutiny, given Mr. Kushner’s past interactions with the Saudi government during his role in the first Trump administration. The Public Investment Fund also holds a long-standing investment in Electronic Arts.
Neither Silver Lake, Affinity Partners, the Public Investment Fund, nor Electronic Arts responded to requests for comment regarding these developments.
Typically, buyouts involve large investors leveraging debt to acquire an underperforming public company. The strategy is to implement changes to boost performance, and then eventually resell the company at a higher valuation. An acquisition of Electronic Arts of this magnitude could surpass the current record for a private deal, which stands at around $32 billion for the 2007 purchase of Texas utility TXU.
This acquisition comes at a time when the gaming industry is experiencing significant transformation. Younger generations of players are increasingly gravitating towards mobile and free-to-play games, shifting away from the expensive, blockbuster franchises that have traditionally been Electronic Arts’ hallmark. Developing major EA titles like Battlefield, FIFA, and Madden often requires years of work and hundreds of millions of dollars in investment.
Jared Kushner in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2022. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund is an investor in Mr. Kushner’s private equity fund, Affinity Partners. Electronic Arts is known for popular games like Battlefield, but these blockbuster franchises have high development costs.
In 2025, Electronic Arts reported underwhelming sales for some of its flagship games, including the soccer title EA Sports FC and the action-RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Other titles, such as Apex Legends, a free-to-play series allowing in-game purchases, have a substantial following but haven’t generated the anticipated revenue, as indicated in a recent earnings call.
Private investors, however, see significant potential in Electronic Arts’ vast intellectual property portfolio. They believe that adapting some of EA’s premier titles for mobile platforms and converting them to free-to-play models, with optional in-game purchases, could broaden their appeal to a new and larger user base. The Saudi wealth fund has shown a growing interest in mobile gaming in recent years. In 2021, it established Savvy Games Group, dedicating a planned $38 billion investment to the industry. The Saudi fund currently owns Scopely, the developer behind Monopoly Go, and Niantic, the creator of the wildly successful mobile game Pokémon Go. Both companies have effectively transformed popular intellectual properties into highly profitable mobile experiences.
Implementing such bold strategic shifts would likely impact EA’s quarterly profits, presenting a challenge for executives under the constant scrutiny of public markets. A private acquisition, however, would allow the company the flexibility to undertake substantial overhauls without the immediate pressure of quarterly earnings reports.
“They’re going to take it private and they’re going to do what they’ve got to do to make this work,” commented Michael Pachter, a managing director at Wedbush Securities and a close observer of the gaming industry. Earlier this year, Electronic Arts closed several game studios and canceled upcoming titles, including the Black Panther game based on the Marvel Studios film, and also scrapped a developing project, Titanfall.