Visitors play EA Sports FC 25 at an EA booth at a video game trade fair in Cologne, Germany, in 2024. EA is in advanced talks to go private at a valuation of roughly US$50-billion, sources say.

Electronic Arts EA-Q , the video game publisher behind titles such as FC and Battlefield , is in advanced talks to go private at a valuation of roughly US$50-billion, according to sources familiar with the matter.

A group of investors including private equity firm Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia’s PIF and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners could unveil a deal for the publisher as soon as next week, the sources said on Friday. If it goes through, the deal would mark the largest ever leveraged buyout in history.

Shares of EA were up more than 15 per cent in afternoon trading.

The gaming industry ha

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