Saudi PIF's $55 billion EA deal approved under EU merger rules

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has secured approval under EU merger rules for its $55 billion deal involving Electronic Arts. The decision removes an important regulatory hurdle in the transaction process and keeps the proposed acquisition moving forward.

The immediate name affected is EA, whose latest reported figures show $7.5B in revenue, up 0.9% YoY, with 79.0% gross margins, 11.8% net margins, and $3.51 diluted EPS. The approval is therefore more directly tied to transaction certainty than to a change in EA’s operating trajectory.

The bull case is that another major clearance reduces deal risk and brings EA closer to completion, while the bear case is that much of the transaction value may already be reflected and operational growth remains modest. The next setup is the remaining approval and closing path, alongside any additional terms or timing disclosures from the parties.

EA’s central tension is regulatory progress versus limited incremental information on valuation and fundamentals. The story does not provide a new forecast, earnings revision, or closing date, so the strength of any directional move depends on how much transaction uncertainty remains in the market.