Electronic Arts Inc. (EA)

Electronic Arts Inc. was one of the largest video game publishers in the world, headquartered in Redwood City, California. It was founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, a former Apple executive, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company went public in 1989 and its shares traded on Nasdaq under the symbol EA.

EA developed, marketed and distributed games, content and services for consoles, personal computers and mobile devices. Its portfolio included the sports franchises EA Sports FC, Madden NFL and UFC, and the Battlefield, Apex Legends, The Sims, Need for Speed and Star Wars titles. It combined internally developed franchises with licensed properties, and it also operated live services and subscriptions around its major games.

Revenue came from full game sales and, increasingly, from recurring digital sources such as live services, extra content and in-game purchases. The company sold to consumers mainly through digital storefronts and platform stores, with some sales through retailers. Andrew Wilson, who became chief executive officer in 2013, continued to lead the company as chairman and CEO.

EA grew through a series of acquisitions of studios and mobile developers over several decades, and it launched and relaunched franchises in step with new generations of hardware. It also faced pressure from the rising cost of making large games and from shifts in how players spend time and money. These factors shaped the strategic debate over its future ownership.

In late September 2025, EA announced it had entered a definitive agreement to be acquired by a consortium of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners. The deal was reported at an enterprise value of about 55 billion dollars and was financed with equity and debt. Under the terms, stockholders were to receive $210 in cash for each share of EA common stock.

Stockholders approved the transaction, and after the regulatory conditions were satisfied EA announced the closing on August 4, 2026. The company said its common stock had stopped trading and would be removed from Nasdaq, and a Form 25 was filed with the SEC. Silver Lake stated that it would work with Andrew Wilson and the EA team following the closing.

With the completion of the take-private, EA became a privately held company and no longer reports as an SEC-registered public company. Its removal from public indexes followed the end of trading. EA's games, studios and live services continue under the new ownership group.