The EU clears the $55bn Saudi-led buyout of EA under its subsidy rules

This article was published on July 31, 2026 The European Commission approved the PIF-led take-private of Electronic Arts under its Foreign Subsidies Regulation, removing one of the last hurdles to the biggest leveraged buyout ever. The European Union has cleared the $55bn takeover of Electronic Arts by a Saudi-led consortium, removing one of the last regulatory hurdles to the largest leveraged buyout in history. The European Commission signed off under its foreign-subsidies rules on 31 July, days after approving the deal on competition grounds, running the kind of regulatory gauntlet that Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal faced a few years earlier. The buyers are a powerful trio. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the private-equity firm Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, the fund led by Jared Kushner, agreed to take EA private in September 2025. The structure is historic in scale. At $55bn it is the biggest take-private deal ever struck, funded by a mix of consortium equity and a vast pile of debt, with PIF set to hold about 93% of the company once it closes. The subsidy review was the sensitive part. The EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation exists to stop state money from ou