EU clears Saudi Arabia's $55 billion EA takeover

The European Commission has approved Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund acquiring sole control of Electronic Arts, clearing a major regulatory hurdle for the proposed $55 billion deal. The Commission found no competition concerns given the limited overlap between the two parties' market activities, and the transaction moved through the standard merger review process without triggering an in-depth investigation.

The contrast with Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition is stark — that deal required a lengthy probe and specific commitments from Microsoft before the EU signed off. The EA deal is structurally different: it's not a merger but a transfer of ownership that takes EA private. That shift comes with its own risks, most notably the $20 billion in debt EA will carry to finance the transaction, but those financial concerns fall outside the EU's competition-focused remit.

Saudi Arabia's PIF would own more than 93% of EA if the deal completes. The acquisition is also backed by Affinity Partners, the investment firm founded by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law — a connection that adds a political dimension to the deal's US regulatory path. FTC chair Andrew Ferguson is a close Trump ally, Trump has a well-documented relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who chairs the PIF, making serious FTC pushback look unlikely despite the political optics.

Game developers and US lawmakers have jointly called on the FTC to scrutinize the takeover carefully, citing "profound concern" about Saudi state ownership of one of the world's largest game publishers. Whether that pressure translates into any meaningful regulatory action remains to be seen, but the political alignment between the White House and Riyadh makes a blocking move from Washington a long shot.