Electronic Arts, the publisher behind blockbuster franchises such as Battlefield, The Sims and EA Sports FC, is set to be taken private in a deal worth about $55 billion, the largest leveraged buyout ever announced.

The agreement will see a consortium made up of Silver Lake Management, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Affinity Partners, the firm founded by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. The consortium will acquire EA at $210 per share in cash. That price values the company at a 25% premium compared with where its stock traded before news of the negotiations surfaced. Advertisement

Funding for the takeover will come from around $36 billion in equity, with PIF rolling over its nearly 10% stake, alongside $20 billion in debt commitments from JPMorgan

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