South Africa’s regulatory body, the Competition Commission of South Africa (CCSA), has approved the acquisition of global game maker and publisher Electronic Arts (EA). Announced in September, EA will be acquired for roughly $55 billion USD by a group led by , with the transaction expected to complete in Q1 FY27. Under the terms of this transaction EA stockholders will receive $210 per share in cash based on the unaffected share price of $168.32 at market close on Sept. 25, 2025, the last fully unaffected trading day.
This approval represents the first official greenlight from a government antitrust regulatory body in the world.
Specifically, the CSSA has approved the acquisition of EA by special purpose vehicle company Oak-Eagle AcquireCo “without conditions.” The holding company represents the interest of investors in the deal including Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Jared Kushner’s Miami-based investment firm Affinity Partners, and investment firm Silver Lake.
Following the transaction, the group would fully own EA, with the Saudi Arabian government having de facto control. The company would also cease trading and become a privately owned entity. PIF also has significant investments in both Affinity Partners and Silver Lake as well.
In case you are unfamiliar with it, the PIF is the sovereign wealth fund of the Saudi Arabian government. Miami-based Affinity Partners was launched in 2021 by Jared Kushner, a former senior advisor to President Donald Trump in his first-term and his son-in-law. Silver Lake is a U.S.-based investment firm that has investments in such companies as Unity Technologies, Twitter/X, AMC, Jio, Motorola, Dell, Endeavor, and Broadcom, among others.
EA is one of the top game publishers in the world and has a deep library that includes EA FC, Madden NFL, Battlefield, Apex Legends, The Sims, as well as a major catalog of new and classic IPs.
Properties owned or tied to the Saudi Arabian government such as the Esports World Cup Foundation and the Esports Nations Cup are frequently accused of helping the government engage in so-called “sports washing,” or using various forms of sport and entertainment to cover up its record on human rights, women’s rights, LGTBQ+ rights, military actions in Yemen, and more. These and other criticisms are actively highlighted by international watchdog groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.