Electronic Arts is set to be acquired by a consortium of private investors which includes Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), and the investment firms Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, with the latter company owned by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of United States president Donald Trump.
The acquisition, if approved, is worth approximately $55 billion. According to a report from the Financial Times, there will be very little opposition to the acquisition from regulators because of the relationship between Saudi Arabia, Kushner and the President.
"Kushner has a personal relationship, and he has deep ties in Saudi Arabia. He is very comfortable operating in the Middle East. It created a basis of trust," a source familiar with the talks told the Financial Times.
"We are in a regulatory environment that is welcoming of [Saudi Arabia]. We are not in what was the previous regime," said another source.
Another source stated the obvious, saying, "What regulator is going to say no to the president's son-in-law?"
Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision-Blizzard was opposed by the Federal Trade Commission under Lina Khan, a President Biden appointee who was committed to stopping monopolies from forming in the private sector....
