“If the transaction is completed, it would likely be the largest leveraged buyout on record, before adjusting for inflation,” the report says.
The Public Investment Fund’s participation is notable given its existing stakes across the games industry, including interests in Take-Two Interactive, Nintendo and EA itself.
Although EA owns many cherished franchises, the company’s principal revenue drivers are its sports titles—EA Sports FC, Madden NFL and College Football. A release such as Mass Effect 5 represents a much smaller portion of EA’s earnings, and it is impossible to predict how a privatisation of this scale would affect EA’s major series.
Ubisoft says it retains creative control over the Assassin’s Creed Mirage DLC, which is set in and was announced in Saudi Arabia; however, some employees have expressed concern that the project may have received funding tied to Saudi sources.
Source: gamesradar.com
