A group of investors including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has received EU antitrust approval for its $55B acquisition of video game developer Electronic Arts, the European Commission said.
The deal, announced last September by PIF, Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners and private equity firm Silver Lake, is the largest leveraged buyout in history, according to the announcement. The Commission said the transaction would not raise competition concerns under EU merger rules.
The acquisition is still being reviewed under the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation, which examines whether non-EU subsidies give companies an unfair advantage when acquiring businesses in the bloc. That review is viewed as a more significant hurdle.
The Commission’s decision under the subsidy rules is due by July 30. People familiar with the matter told Reuters last week that PIF is also expected to receive clearance under the regulation.
Source: Zawya
