Finalized on September 29, the takeover of Electronic Arts by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners is causing concern at the highest levels of the US government.
In a letter to the US Treasury Secretary, Senators Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren expressed their “deep concern” about the acquisition. They fear possible foreign influence and risks to national security.
“We write with profound concern about the foreign influence and national security risks posed by the potential acquisition of American video game producer Electronic Arts (EA) by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake Group, L.L.C (Silver Lake), and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners.
We urge you and the Committee to apply searching scrutiny to this unprecedented, proposed foreign privatization of a major American technology and entertainment company.
The proposed transaction poses a number of significant foreign influence and national security risks, beginning with the PIF’s reputation as a strategic arm of the Saudi government.
Saudi Arabia’s desire to buy influence through the acquisition of EA is apparent on the face of the transaction—the investors propose to pay more than $10 billion above EA’s trading value for a company whose stock has “stagnated for half a decade” in an unpredictably volatile industry.”
The politicians believe that Saudi Arabia could collect the personal data of “millions of users” and compromise their privacy. Furthermore, the deal could also lead to a loss of transparency in the company’s operations.
The review of the acquisition will lead to conclusions that are expected to be reached by November 4, 2025.
