The European Union’s executive branch has granted antitrust approval to a proposed $55 billion takeover of Electronic Arts, marking another step forward for the deal led by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. The European Commission said it had concluded the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, citing its limited impact on competition in the markets where the companies involved are active.
The Commission said it reviewed the deal, which is led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, under its standard merger review process, noting that the acquisition primarily concerns the production and distribution of PC, console, and mobile games, along with esports events. While the antitrust clearance represents a significant milestone, the European Union has not yet given the takeover full approval. The Commission is separately reviewing the deal to ensure compliance with foreign subsidy rules, with a decision on that front expected by July 30.
The acquisition still requires approval from additional regulators, including the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Earlier this year, members of the US Congress had called on the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a thorough review of the potential merger, reflecting continued scrutiny of the deal’s national security and competitive implications in the American market.
If the acquisition closes, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund would end up owning more than 93 percent of Electronic Arts, with private equity firms Silver Lake and Affinity Partners also holding stakes in the company. Electronic Arts shareholders overwhelmingly approved the takeover in December. Should the deal go through, it would stand as the largest leveraged buyout in history, with Electronic Arts taking on more than $20 billion in debt used to finance the transaction, a scale that has drawn significant attention across the gaming and financial industries alike.
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