The Saudis Just Bought EA, And The Debt Is "Junk"

EA is going private. Few trust their new owners.

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00:00 "No Immediate Changes" (press f to doubt)
01:12 Private Acquisition
03:58 Who Are The Buyers?
07:39 What This Means
11:26 How They're Buying EA
15:36 Prestige Protection

Sources:
https://ir.ea.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/EA-Announces-Agreement-to-be-Acquired-by-PIF-Silver-Lake-and-Affinity-Partners-for-55-Billion/default.aspx

https://bellular.games/the-dire-state-of-bungie/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-10-10/has-bob-iger-lost-the-magic-inside-disney-ceo-s-billion-dollar-crisis

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-comments-on-buying-new-studios-but-refuses-to-d/1100-6480391/

https://www.fool.com/money/research/video-game-spending-statistics/

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/12/18/Unpacks/ea-sports-college-football-25-best-selling-sports-video-game-all-time/

https://archive.is/20250930012749/https://www.ft.com/content/61cef75e-ceba-43ee-80e3-040756c6154f

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/25/trump-china-tiktok-deal

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/snk-saudi-arabias-96-ownership-doesnt-affect-us-in-any-way

https://www.timeextension.com/news/2025/01/bravo-snk-what-a-greedy-company-king-of-fighters-xiii-global-matchs-steam-launch-has-upset-fans

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/snk-saudi-arabias-96-ownership-doesnt-affect-us-in-any-way

https://bellular.games/loading-screen-xbox-didnt-have-to-kill-perfect-dark/

https://eslfaceitgroup.com/blog/2022/01/esl-and-faceit-merge-to-create-the-worlds-leading-competitive-gaming-platform/

https://bellular.games/loading-screen-the-esports-tournament-where-you-literally-crush-your-opponents-trophies/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45812399

https://www.playthegame.org/projects/saudi-arabia-s-grip-on-world-sport/the-dark-reality-of-neom-s-shining-vision/

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/saudi-arabia-human-rights-raif-badawi-king-salman

https://bsky.app/profile/stephentotilo.bsky.social/post/3m23abrrwj22v

https://insider-gaming.com/bioware-staff-worried-about-studios-future/

https://www.gamefile.news/p/ea-saudi-arabia-pif-silver-lake-affinity-partners-deal

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/snk-lead-insists-saudi-arabia-sale-will-have-no-effect-on-the-games-we-make/

https://observer.co.uk/news/the-sensemaker/article/a-record-buyout-of-electronic-arts-deepens-saudi-arabias-soft-power-push-into-gaming

https://kotaku.com/ea-saudi-bioware-ai-lgbtq-debt-junk-bond-2000630647

https://kotaku.com/ea-saudi-arabia-battlefield-6-mass-effect-bioware-private-equity-2000629947#:~:text=%E2%80%9CEA%E2%80%99s%20mobile%20games,to%20both%20parties.%E2%80%9D

https://bellular.games/ea-breaks-1000-layoffs-in-2-years/

https://www.reddit.com/r/commandandconquer/comments/1izmpmb/cc_steam_workshop_support_source_code/

https://superjoost.substack.com/p/electronic-arts-55b-buyout-doesnt

https://www.videogamesindustrymemo.com/p/a-kushy-deal-02102025

https://www.eurogamer.net/eas-takeover-the-saudi-arabian-public-investment-fund-and-vanity-mega-projects-human-rights-watch-assesses-the-impact-of-gamings-latest-controversy

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/09/how-private-ownership-will-change-electronic-arts/

https://bsky.app/profile/plante.bsky.social/post/3lzyccubigk2d