Electronic Arts (EA) to be acquired by PIF-led consortium for $55 bln, or $210/share

• Electronic Arts (EA) is being acquired by a consortium of investors, including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), the private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, and Affinity Partners, an investment fund led by Jared Kushner. The group announced a $55 billion deal to take EA private. 
• EA, founded in 1982, has a broad portfolio of well-known hits, ranging from sports to first-person shooting games, including the eagerly awaited release of “Battlefield 6.”

  

 

 

Electronic Arts to be acquired by PIF-led consortium for $55 bln, or $210/share, in all-cash deal 

• EA announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an investor consortium comprised of PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners in an all-cash transaction that values EA at an enterprise value of approximately $55 billion. The transaction positions EA to accelerate innovation and growth to build the future of entertainment.
• Under the terms of the agreement, the Consortium will acquire 100% of EA, with PIF rolling over its existing 9.9% stake in the Company. EA stockholders will receive $210 per share in cash. The per share purchase price represents a 25% premium to EA's unaffected share price of $168.32 at market close on September 25, 2025, the last fully unaffected trading day, and a premium to EA's unaffected all-time high of $179.01 at market close on August 14, 2025.
• The transaction was approved by EA's Board of Directors, is expected to close in Q1 FY27 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals and approval by EA stockholders. Following the close of the transaction, EA's common stock will no longer be listed on any public market.
• The transaction will be funded by a combination of cash from each of PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners as well as roll-over of PIF's existing stake in EA, constituting an equity investment of approximately $36 billion, and $20 billion of debt financing fully and solely committed by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., $18 billion of which is expected to be funded at close. Each of PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners plan to fund the equity component of the financing entirely from capital under their respective control.
• Upon completion of the transaction, EA will remain headquartered in Redwood City, California and continue to be led by Andrew Wilson as CEO.
• As a result of this announcement, for its Q2 FY26 earnings release scheduled for October 28, 2025, EA will release financial and operational results through a press release and will not hold a conference call or webcast.
• EA must pay up to $1 bln (reduced to $540 mln in certain cases) if it backs out for a superior offer or fails to secure shareholder approval, while the buyer consortium must pay $1 bln if regulatory approvals fail, the deal times out, or it breaches the agreement.

=Electronic Arts (EA) reported earnings on Tue 5 Feb 2019 (a/h)

Electronic Arts beats by $0.20, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS, revs below consensus

• Reports Q3 (Dec) GAAP earnings of $0.86 per share, $0.20 better than the S&P Capital IQ GAAP Consensus of $0.66; revenues fell 18.4% year/year to $1.61 bln vs the $1.75 bln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.
• "Q3 was a difficult quarter for Electronic Arts and we did not perform to our expectations. We are now applying the strengths of our company to sharpen our execution and focus on delivering great new games and long-term live services for our players. We're very excited about Apex Legends, the upcoming launch of Anthem, and a deep line-up of new experiences that we'll bring to our global communities next fiscal year."
• "FIFA stands out as a robust franchise through a tumultuous year in the video game industry," said COO and CFO Blake Jorgensen. "Elsewhere in the business, we're making adjustments to improve execution and we're refocusing R&D. Looking forward, we're delighted to launch Anthem, our new IP, to grow Apex Legends and related Titanfall experiences, to deliver new Plants vs. Zombies and Need for Speed titles, and to add Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order to our sports titles in the fall."
• Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees GAAP EPS of $0.56 vs. $0.74 S&P Capital IQ GAAP Consensus; sees Q4 revs of $1.17 bln vs. $1.48 bln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.

Earnings this week : Feb. 4 - 8, 2019 (wk 6)

Earnings expected this week:

Monday (Feb 4)

• Morning: ALXN CLX ON SYY
• Afternoon: AVB FN GILD GOOG GLUU HIG LM STX

Tuesday (Feb 5)

• Morning: ADM AME ARMK BDX CHD CNC EL EMR ENR INGR IT LII LITE RL 
• Afternoon: ALL APC APU CB CERN DATA DIS DOX  EA MANH  MCHP MODN  MTSI MYGN MXL OI  PAA  PAYC SAVE SCSC  SFLY   SNAP SWKS TCS  TENB ULTI USNA VNOM VRTX ZEN

Wednesday (Feb 6)

• Morning:  ABG BSX BCO CSTE CPRI CTSH CMI ELAN FDC FDV GM HUM LLY  NYT REGN  SPOT TRVG  TTWO 
• Afternoon: ACLS AEL AHL AINV AOSL BLKB CCK CCMP CDAY CENT CINF CMG CSGS CUB CUZ DHT ECHO EGP ELY ENS ENSG FEYE FLO FLT FORM FTNT GBDC GPRO HQY ICHR IRBT KNL LCI LNC MC MET MTCH MTRX NEWR NOV NTGR NTR NXPI ORLY OSUR PAHC PCTY PRU PSDO PSEC RGLD RYN SONO TRMB TTGT TTMI TWO UHAL VVV WERN ZNGA

Wed pm/Thur am (vol) https://finviz.com/screener.ashx?v=211&t=ACLS,AEL,AHL,AINV,AOSL,BLKB,CCK,CCMP,CDAY,CENT,CINF,CMG,CSGS,CUB,CUZ,DHT,ECHO,EGP,ELY,ENS,ENSG,FEYE,FLO,FLT,FORM,FTNT,GBDC,GPRO,HQY,ICHR,IRBT,KNL,LCI,LNC,MC,MET,MTCH,MTRX,NEWR,NOV,NTGR,NTR,NXPI,ORLY,OSUR,PAHC,PCTY,PRU,PSDO,PSEC,RGLD,RYN,SONO,TRMB,TTGT,TTMI,TWO,UHAL,VVV,WERN,ZNGA,ADNT,ADS,AMAG,ANDX,ARW,BCE,BR,BSIG,BV,CAH,CDW,CEIX,CNHI,COR,DNKN,DTE,EIGI,EPC,FCAU,GRA,GRUB,HAIN,HBI,ICE,K,LABL,LCII,LH,MAC,MAS,MD,MMS,MPC,MPLX,MPW,ODFL,PAG,PBH,PENN,PM,PRLB,PTEN,SEE,SNA,SNY,SPB,SPGI,TGI,TKR,TMUS,TPR,TSN,TWTR,VIRT,VSTO,WLTW,WMS,WWE,YUM&ta=0&o=-volume

Thursday (Feb 7)

• Morning: ADNT ADS AMAG ANDX ARW BCE BR BSIG BV CAH CDW CEIX CNHI COR DNKN DTE EIGI EPC FCAU GRA GRUB HAIN HBI ICE K LABL LCII LH MAC MAS MD MMS MPC MPLX MPW ODFL PAG PBH PENN PM PRLB PTEN SEE SNA SNY SPB SPGI TGI TKR TMUS TPR TSN TWTR VIRT VSTO WLTW WMS WWE YUM
• Afternoon: ATEN ATGE ALNY ASYS ANGI MT ATHN BECN BHE BKH CARB CSL CBL CCS COLM OFC DXC EGAN EHC ESE EEFT EXPE FISV FSCT FTV FET FWRD G HUBG IAC KN LGND MTW MCFT MAT MTD MOBL MHK MSI NCR UEPS NR NWSA NUAN OMCL CNXN PMT POWI PRI PRO QRVO QNST RPD RSG SGEN SKX SWI SYNA TDC TBI USX VRSN VVI VSAT VRTU VCRA WTS WU ZAYO 

Friday (Feb 8)

• Morning: ARNC AVA BPL CAE CBOE CLF COTY ESNT EXC GT GRC EAF HAS IMGN PCG PSX  PSXP RDN UNVR VTR 

=Electronic Arts (EA) reported earnings on Tue 9 May 2017 (a/h)

• EA forecasts current-quarter revenue below estimates

May 9 (Reuters) - Video-game publisher Electronic Arts Inc forecast current-quarter revenue below analysts' estimates on Tuesday, and announced a new $1.2 billion buyback program.

The company forecast first quarter adjusted revenue of $750 million, slightly below analysts' average estimate of $758.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

EA's revenue rose 16.7 percent to $1.53 billion in the fourth quarter ended March 31.

Sales from EA's digital business surged 30.6 percent to $934 million, as players increasingly buy games online rather than physical copies at retail stores.

On an adjusted basis, revenue was $1.09 billion, in line with analysts' average estimate, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Videogame companies are required to defer some revenue from certain online-enabled games following a tweak to the U.S. accounting rules.

EA's profit fell to $566 million, or $1.81 per share, from $899 million, or $2.79 per share, a year earlier.

=Electronic Arts (EA) reported 4Q earnings on Thur 28 Jan 2016 (a/h)

** charts before earnings **



** charts after earnings **

Electronic Arts beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; guides FY16 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus :

• Reports Q3 (Dec) earnings of $1.83 per share, excluding non-recurring items,$0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.81; revenues rose 26.3% year/year to $1.8 bln vs the $1.81 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.40 vs. $0.50 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $875 mln vs. $916.05 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.