For years, the Sovereign Fund of Saudi Arabia and the billionaire negotiator Egon Durban have covered Electronic Arts. But it was Donald Trump’s son -in -law, Jared Kushner, who unlocked his acquisition for US $ 55,000 million.
Kushner, married to Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka, began to design the greatest purchase in the history of Wall Street earlier this year along with Durban, Co -director of the Capital Group Specialized in Silver Lake Technology.
About a month ago, they approached EA, nicknamed Eagle by the negotiators, With a firm offer. The EA Board of Directors tried to obtain the highest possible price.
The acquisition of EA on Monday consolidates the financial axis between the orbit of the American president even more and the most powerful ally in Washington in the Arab world.
The purchase for US $ 55,000 million, backed by US $ 36,000 million in capital and US $ 20,000 million in JPMorgan debt, He has put Kushner at the point of view of Wall Street. He acted as a key figure in the construction of this bold acquisition.
Kushner’s investment firm will have about 5% EA, according to sources aware of the matter. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia will become the majority shareholder of the video game manufacturer, After signing the largest capital check, followed by Silver Lake, which will be an important minority shareholder, these sources added.
The people involved In the transaction they declined to comment beyond their public statements.
Durban had been studying the acquisition of EA for more than a decade. But it was Kushner who convinced the PIF to opt for the exclusion offer, according to sources informed about it.
Kushner took advantage of the deep ties he forged in Saudi Arabia as sent during Trump’s first presidency. The direction of EA also made several trips to the kingdom as the operation advanced. Turqi alnowaiser, vice governor of the PIF, led the background negotiations.
The agreement is a risky bet of Silver Lake, Affinity Partners of Kushner, the Sovereign Fund of Saudi Arabia and the largest US Bank. They believe that artificial intelligence will promote entertainment boom and generate important corporate cost savings by reducing video game expenses.
Finally, the acquisition obtained the support of Prince Prince of the Kingdom, Mohammed Bin Salman, and Jamie Dimon, from JPMorgan and the main American bankerand. Internal sources hope he has the support of the US president, since he considers Riyadh an important US ally.
During the last decade, the heir prince has invested billions of dollars in technology and related investments as part of his impulse to diversify the economy of the country by moving it away from oil. He allocated US $ 38,000 million to investments in video game companies, one of his favorite hobbies, through the Savvy Games of the PIF.
The PIF also has participations in other companies in the sector, such as Nintendo and Take-Two Interactive. Durban, by Silver Lake, had studied EA’s acquisition in 2011, but the agreement never materialized. I wanted to work with Kushner, whose Affinity Partners fund has the support of the PIF, believing that stock markets did not understand the company.
EA video games such as EA Sports FC and Madden NFL will join Silver Lake’s great bets in sports assets, such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship matrix. The firm believes that AI will give rise to an explosion of free time, promoting the growth of spending in sports and entertainment.
According to the source, the consortium plans to invest more money in EA or borrow more to finance acquisitions. They could also finance purchases from other video game companies using EA’s private actions, they add. If the agreement fails, the Consortium will be owed to EA a rupture commission of US $ 1 billion.
