Saudi Arabia weighs merging EA with Savvy into one gaming giant

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which holds roughly 93% of Electronic Arts, is weighing a merger of EA with its wholly-owned Savvy Games, potentially combining Madden NFL and Pokémon Go. The EU cleared EA’s $55 billion acquisition, so a merger may avoid a new filing unless minority-shareholder rights raise joint-control issues. The proposal follows EA’s recent mobile-gaming setbacks, a leadership change at Savvy, and the fund’s prior $38 billion spend on deals such as Scopely and Niantic’s games business.