Overview
- Bloomberg reported on Sept. 10 that the Public Investment Fund is considering folding newly acquired Electronic Arts into its existing Savvy Games Group but has made no final decision and is treating the plan as preliminary.
- People familiar with the discussions say any merger is likely to wait until Savvy completes a reported $6 billion purchase of Chinese mobile studio Moonton before PIF makes a firm move.
- A combined firm would bring EA franchises such as EA Sports FC, Battlefield and The Sims together with Savvy-owned mobile hits like Monopoly Go! and Pokémon GO to span console, PC and mobile markets.
- The idea follows PIF’s roughly $55 billion leveraged buyout of EA in early August and Savvy’s earlier multibillion buys, and observers say the scale and sovereign ownership would prompt intense antitrust and cross-border review.
- Industry reporting notes concrete risks for workers and operations because the August buyout added large deal-related debt and consolidation typically seeks cost savings, which could mean studio changes, layoffs and shifts in project funding.