(March 16): Wall Street banks led by JPMorgan Chase & Co kicked off a US$5.75 billion cross-border leveraged loan sale to help finance the buyout of video game maker Electronic Arts Inc, one of the largest transactions of its kind.
A US$4 billion US dollar loan is being offered at a discounted price of around 98.50 cents on the dollar and a margin of 3.50 to 3.75 percentage points over a key benchmark. JPMorgan is also pitching a €1.53 billion loan, equivalent to about US$1.75 billion, at similar pricing terms.
A lender call for the deal is scheduled for Tuesday at 10am New York time, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the transaction is private. Lender commitments are due on March 23.
EA is being acquired by a consortium led by private equity firm Silver Lake Management, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Affinity Partners, which is managed by US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The deal values the video game company at about US$55 billion.
JPMorgan is anchoring US$20 billion of debt — one of the biggest buyout commitments on record — alongside about 20 lenders, including Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc and Morgan Stanley.
The deal is one of the largest-ever leveraged buyouts, eclipsing the roughly US$45 billion TXU deal in 2007. It ranks among the biggest M&A transactions of 2025 and highlights Wall Street’s willingness to back blockbuster deals despite economic concerns and stretched valuations.
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This year is expected to be a busy one for M&A-related loans, with the highlight so far being a US$7.25 billion transaction for Hologic Inc’s buyout that saw strong demand and was the biggest leveraged loan since 2021.
But the EA financing will test investor appetite amid market turbulence driven by the war in Iran and concerns around AI disruption, which have pummelled secondary loan prices.
EA, based in Redwood City, California, ranks among the largest US video game companies, with franchises such as EA Sports FC, The Sims, Madden NFL and Battlefield.
Uploaded by Arion Yeow
