EA Saudi Takeover Could Affect Marina Office

Electronic Arts said on September 29, 2025 that it had agreed to be acquired by a consortium made up of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners in an all-cash deal valued at about $55 billion. EA said shareholders would receive $210 a share, a 25% premium to the unaffected closing price on September 25, 2025. The company said Andrew Wilson would remain chief executive, and PIF said the transaction was expected to close in EA’s first quarter of fiscal 2027, subject to approvals. The deal has drawn attention in Los Angeles because EA’s Marina del Rey office is one of the company’s larger Southern California sites. ### How much of EA’s Los Angeles footprint sits in Marina del Rey? EA’s careers site says more than 200 employees work in Marina del Rey. The company says the office houses Ripple Effect Studios as well as central marketing, legal, IT, quality assurance, finance and human resources teams. Ripple Effect’s studio page says its Los Angeles studio opened in 2022 in Marina del Rey. The studio, formerly DICE LA, now works alongside newer Ripple Effect locations in Vancouver and Seattle, giving EA multiple places from which it can shift work even if it keeps the Marina office in place. ### What has EA actually said about the takeover and its offices? EA’s September 29, 2025 announcement did not mention any office closures, relocations or layoffs. The company said the transaction would “accelerate innovation and growth” and said its partners would help create “new growth opportunities.” Andrew Wilson told employees in a memo published by EA the same day that the company’s “mission” and “commitment to players and fans” would remain unchanged. He also said he would continue as CEO and work with the leadership team after the buyout. ### What approvals are still relevant before anything can change? A February 10, 2026 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust waiting period expired on February 9, 2026. That cleared one major U.S. regulatory step. EA’s definitive proxy statement, filed November 20, 2025, said shareholders were being asked to approve the merger at a special meeting on December 22, 2025. Company and PIF disclosures describe the transaction as subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, with closing expected in the first quarter of fiscal 2027. ### Why are Marina del Rey employees watching this so closely? Marina del Rey is not just a satellite game studio. EA says the office includes support functions such as finance, HR, legal and IT, which are often the kinds of teams private-equity-backed owners review when they combine operations after a take-private deal. The office is also tied to a relatively recent real-estate commitment. Real-estate trade reports from 2020 said EA signed a 10-year lease for a 58,034-square-foot building at 4820 Alla Road, and a January 2026 trade report said the company had renewed and expanded at the Del Rey campus. EA has not said publicly whether the acquisition changes those plans. ### What role does Saudi Arabia’s fund play in this deal? PIF is not a passive backer in the transaction. EA said PIF is part of the investor consortium and is rolling over its existing 9.9% stake in the company into the deal. Turqi Alnowaiser, PIF’s deputy governor and head of international investments, said in the fund’s announcement that PIF was “uniquely positioned” in gaming and esports and that the partnership would help drive EA’s long-term growth. That statement outlined the buyer’s view of the deal, but neither PIF nor EA has publicly detailed any Marina del Rey-specific operating plan. ### What should employees and local observers watch next? EA’s next concrete milestone is the closing itself, which the company and PIF have said is expected in the first quarter of fiscal 2027. Until then, the most useful public documents are EA SEC filings, EA investor-relations updates and the company’s careers pages, which still list Marina del Rey as an office with more than 200 employees.