EA shareholders overwhelmingly approved the $55 billion buyout of the game studio by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), with more than 201 million votes supporting the deal. Although PIF's acquisition of EA has cleared a major hurdle with the company's shareholders, the deal is still subject to regulatory approval by government officials.
The shareholder vote came months after EA announced it would go private ahead of a $55 billion deal to be acquired by a Saudi-backed consortium. The new group will have control of EA shared between PIF, Affinity Partners and Silver Lake, with PIF owning a 93.7% majority stake. Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, is behind the PIF and is known to be an avid gambler. The pending EA buyout wouldn't be the first time PIF has dealt with game companies, as it currently holds a 96% majority stake in SNK, makers of fighting games such as Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves and King of Fighters series. PIF also currently holds small investment stakes in other companies, including Nintendo, Take-Two and Capcom.
Battlefield 6 is being accused of using AI-generated art, and players aren't happy
Battlefield 6 users are accusing EA of using generative artificial intelligence for new content, as players notice a few unusual details in one of the game's cosmetics.
EA shareholders overwhelmingly say 'Yes' to PIF buyout
Although EA's new ownership consortium will lead the PIF, this has not deterred the vast majority of shareholders from settling the deal. According to an official filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), there were 201,459,396 votes in favor of the merger agreement between EA and the PIF-led consortium, with 1,914,837 votes against the PIF deal and 90,311 abstentions. By a similar margin, there were 178,308,365 votes in favor of the compensation proposal, with 24,908,638 votes against and 254,561 abstentions. So EA's pending acquisition removed one of the biggest hurdles to completion. The vote took place during a special meeting of shareholders hosted by EA on December 22. As part of the buyout process, EA will go private and current shareholders will be paid $210 per share, the largest leveraged buyout in history.
The approval comes amid what is said to be a tumultuous period, particularly for the PIF. In early fall, reports said that PIF was low on funds after its involvement in the EA buyout, and the fund was trying not to invest as much money in other projects as a result. However, despite some of these issues, PIF said the acquisition of EA was a long-term investment that could gradually double in value. PIF has already reduced its investment stake in Nintendo from 7.5% to 6.3% in November 2024, almost a year before the EA acquisition was announced.
The deal with EA may not be finalized yet
While shareholder approval of EA's acquisition by PIF, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners has been one major hurdle cleared, another challenge looms on the horizon for all parties involved. The deal still has to be approved by various government entities, though U.S. officials have long raised some concerns. In October 2025, US Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wrote a letter to the US Treasury Department stating that a buyout of EA by a PIF-led consortium could be a national security risk. Warren and Blumenthal pointed out how volatile EA's financial performance can be, and said a deal with EA could give the Saudi government access to customer data in the U.S. and abroad.
In an attempt to allay the concerns of fans and shareholders, EA has confirmed that CEO Andrew Wilson will remain in his current post if the deal goes ahead as planned, and that the company will still retain full creative control. Only time will tell how the ongoing acquisition battle plays out once Congress returns from recess in 2026.
Sources: Bloomberg (via PC Gamer)
