Goldman Sachs is on pace to pocket an eye-watering $110 million for advising Electronic Arts (EA) on its prospective $55 billion take‑private deal.
The deal, initially unveiled in September 2025, is being orchestrated by a group of investors, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), as well as US private equity firm Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, an investment vehicle co-founded by Jared Kushner.
Goldman will be paid $10 million under the deal, with the remainder of $ 100 million due at closing, subject to any required shareholder and regulatory approvals.
Goldman navigates complex negotiations
The acquisition group originally reached out to Electronic Arts in early March, with Silver Lake talking directly to EA’s chief executive. The maneuver kicked off months of strategic negotiations over one of the biggest mergers in the gaming industry. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) then joined the consortium, holding a stake of less than 10 percent in EA. There was also a third major investor identified as Affinity.
The source agreed to the terms of becoming the majority owner of EA, which would give the company decisive influence on its strategic direction in the future. Silver Lake retains a significant minority stake, enabling it to remain actively involved in EA’s operations and decision-making.
The ownership structure would also allocate Affinity Partners a stake of approximately 5%. This smaller but still meaningful ownership stake would enable it to participate in governance and take advantage of growth opportunities. Due to these allocations, the negotiations quickly led to competitive bidding for EA. After an initial offer of $200 per share in early September, this consortium increased its offer to $210 per share by the end of the month.
At the time, this price represented roughly a 25% share price. Initially, the investors believed that the company was being undervalued by the market, indicating its long-term potential. EA’s banker and long-term financial adviser on the offer was Goldman Sachs.
Despite being EA’s sole adviser on the deal, it has not collected any advisory or underwriting fees from EA over the past two years. In contrast, Goldman Sachs had earned $24 million and $154 million in fees for advising PIF and Silver Lake during the same period.
Wall Street watches mega deal impact
The record fee reflects just how lucrative advisory services have become in the era of mega deals. Big buyouts and mergers are on the rise, fueled by strong debt markets, looser regulatory control in some instances, and high corporate confidence in the American economy.
Bank of America, for instance, is set to make nearly $130 million advising Union Pacific Corporation on its acquisition of Norfolk Southern Corporation earlier this year. And JPMorgan Chase made $123 million advising AbbVie in its $63 billion acquisition of Allergan last year.
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