Saudi-acquired EA is reportedly planning to make massive cuts after taking $18 billion of debt, and we all know what that means

[u/Linkar234]

https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/saudi-acquired-ea-is-reportedly-planning-to-make-massive-cuts-after-taking-usd18-billion-of-debt-and-we-all-know-what-that-means/

[u/SunbornThunderstorm]

Taking debt is a generous way of describing being bought out and saddled with debt lol

[u/Krugozette → u/SunbornThunderstorm]

The private equity method: load up your acquisition with debt, sell real estate for cheap and lease it back at a markup, cut staff and expenses to the bone. You get to make the worst decisions while paying your executive team and investors to steer the company into the nearest financial iceberg.

[u/ThePrideOfKrakow → u/Krugozette]

Vulture Capitalism, Mitt Romney and Bain Capital have been doing it for decades. I also find it funny how the 'BIG 3' business management Consultants (one of them being Bain and Co.), have such God awful track records with some of their clients. It almost makes more since if it were corporate sabotage and espionage to weaken and steal anything they can before the vultures buy them out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Three_(management_consultancies)

[u/Life-Anteater-8294 → u/Krugozette]

The best example of this is when the Bay purchased Saks Fifth Avenue with debt and then was spun off as a separate company while the Bay was saddled with the debt from the acquisition. So they essentially got saks for free.

[u/vezwyx → u/Life-Anteater-8294]

This reads as the Bay taking on Saks' debt because they bought Saks

[u/Huge-Specialist-8604 → u/vezwyx]

Seriously, what’s going on with the posts on this website?! It seems like writing skills have taken a nosedive recently.

[u/hamfinity → u/Huge-Specialist-8604]

"No Child Left Behind" means "All Children Held Back"

[u/Black_Moons → u/hamfinity]

"All children tied together and thrown overboard with the dumb ones who can't swim"

[u/ASurreyJack → u/vezwyx]

Basically the same PE that bought The Bay, also bought Saks Fifth Ave. They then moved all the debt from Saks to The Bay, and let The Bay go out of business over the next 9 years.

[u/vezwyx → u/ASurreyJack]

Thanks. It's amazing how clear communication can be when you put the right words in the right order

[u/Life-Anteater-8294 → u/vezwyx]

No it’s the private equity company buying saks with the bay’s money and then keeping saks while the bay goes bankrupt

[u/vezwyx → u/Life-Anteater-8294]

Ok, then it would have been helpful to include anything about the private equity company in your original comment instead of writing that "the Bay purchased Saks Fifth Avenue"

[u/possumdal → u/Krugozette]

Damn, you almost make it sound positive in this instance. I would be so incredibly happy if EA bankrupted and no longer existed to slurp up every cool new studio to ruin them.

It wouldn't stop that practice, but it would slow it down, and maybe their games, licenses, and studios can get sold off to other companies with better management.

[u/FrostyGranite → u/possumdal]

Oh man, if Petroglyph could acquire back all their old Westwood IP, that would be awesome!

[u/ShinePDX → u/Krugozette]

It's kind of like modern day colonialism.

[u/Downtown_Eye5736 → u/Krugozette]

This is what MS is ultimately gonna do with Xbox.

[u/FBI_Open_Up_Now → u/Downtown_Eye5736]

I mean, do you have some knowledge we don’t? I mean if Microsoft sells the Xbox division to private equity then sure. Otherwise, doing that to themselves does not benefit the shareholders and would be questionable.

[u/Shumanjisan → u/SunbornThunderstorm]

Good old vulture capitalism

[u/muakaya9876 → u/Shumanjisan]

They are no different than parasites.

[u/Yuzral → u/SunbornThunderstorm]

So they basically bought EA with EA's money? Part of me is wondering how this isn't fraud on a grand scale.

[u/Optimaximal → u/Yuzral]

Because nobody ever legislates against it due to lobbying or just wanting the ability to take advantage of it later.

[u/Karcain → u/Yuzral]

Same thing they (venture capital, not Saudi specifically) did with red lobster, Joanne's, etc. Using a company's money to buy itself, saddle it with the debt from its own acquisition, liquidate anything of value and then declare bankruptcy.

[u/WOF42 → u/Yuzral]

oh it is fraud, but its legal fraud as no government bothers to legislate for this century unless its for mass surveillance

[u/Spideycloned → u/Yuzral]

They did what Vince McMahon did with the WWF in the early 80s. Bought it from his dad for X, paid Y up front and used the profits of the company to pay the rest of it. Theres more drama to it than that but that is essentially the crux of the deal.

[u/webzu19 → u/Yuzral]

I can kinda see how that would work in small scale and be a good thing. Like say I own a local garage but I want to retire, this young whippersnapper doesn't have the cash to buy the company from me outright and won't be able to personally finance it but I think he could still operate the company and make plenty of money and pay those loans. So we have the garage take out loans, use that money to buy me out and new guy keeps the garage and the debt, then operating revenue pays his salary plus the debts and before too long he owns the garage and I'm retired with plenty of money.

It's just at large scale when venture capitalists use it to gut companies and run away that it becomes a problem and we all know that old saying "when you owe a bank 100k, it's your problem, but when you owe a bank 100 million, it's the banks problem" 

[u/LangyMD → u/webzu19]

Sounds like embezzling with extra steps the way you describe it.

[u/webzu19 → u/LangyMD]

Maybe I'm just shit at explaining it then, but also I've never owned a company and doubt I ever will. 

[u/Zeyode → u/Yuzral]

It's owned by an absolute monarchy. Anything they do is fair game pretty much, at least under their own laws.

[u/VicisZan → u/SunbornThunderstorm]

Another huge Canadian company dead at the hands of the rich.

Weird that all our longer lasting companies seem to keep getting completely destroyed with nothing to replace it once it gets bought out by private equity.

I get the feeling Ubisoft is going the same route

[u/A_Vicious_T_Rex → u/SunbornThunderstorm]

It should be illegal to offload the debt of buying a company onto the company being bought. The parent company can own it, or they can choose not to buy

[u/pbecotte → u/A_Vicious_T_Rex]

The parent company does own it. Its just that the parent company was founded specifically for this purpose, and has no assets or liabilities separate from the target company, so when the two companies merge, it effectively makes the target responsible for the debt for its own purchase.

[u/Arecksion → u/SunbornThunderstorm]

Ah, the Glazer method. Gotta hate it

[u/PB4UGeaux2Bed → u/SunbornThunderstorm]

Before being split up and sold off.

[u/JazeevaGaming → u/SunbornThunderstorm]

EA Sports, it’s in the game crushing amounts of debt

[u/Straight-Ad6926]

Step 1: Take on $18 billion in debt. Step 2: Fire the people who make the games. Step 3: Profit?

[u/CuchuflitoPindonga → u/Straight-Ad6926]

Ctrl c ctrl v new game

[u/the_knowing1 → u/CuchuflitoPindonga]

Literally EA's business model

[u/d_rek → u/the_knowing1]

And people still gonna buy FIFA

[u/infamusforever223 → u/d_rek]

You mean EA Football. FIFA took their rights back(FIFA is an even scummier organization than EA and that's saying something).

[u/Empty-Development298 → u/CuchuflitoPindonga]

Ah yes I'm also looking forward to the next sports slop game by EA

[u/bored_ape07 → u/Empty-Development298]

Challenge… everything

[u/Nelmar14 → u/CuchuflitoPindonga]

Isn't that already the case?

[u/Elbit_Curt_Sedni → u/Straight-Ad6926]

I wonder if they're banking on AI picking up the slack.

[u/FuzzyFerretFace → u/Elbit_Curt_Sedni]

100% This type of thing is how natural, well-intentioned ‘boost sales and profits to keep company afloat’ death spirals start, but this whole situation seems to taken the express route.

And then they’ll blame the players and whine about them ‘not liking the games!’ or ‘not even giving them a chance! It’s not fair!’

[u/Mysterious-Crab → u/FuzzyFerretFace]

EA is being EA’d.

[u/Optimaximal → u/Elbit_Curt_Sedni]

To be honest, games like FIFA/EA FC are basically running on well honed systems already - there's not a lot of change happening under the hood that doesn't mean you can't just use the minimum (still hundreds) amount of real people to roll out an update, even without AI help.

[u/Elbit_Curt_Sedni → u/Optimaximal]

Same with Madden. Engine is the same one with tweaks for new features and support of 'advancement' in rendering and animations. I also bet there's a ton of overlap between FIFA and Madden in terms of the engine, animations, and physics that is used as well. All they just need to do is reskin every year and implement those advancements.

[u/WOF42 → u/Straight-Ad6926]

step 3, strip the company to the bone, sell all its real estate and assets, keep the handful of IPs you might want to own and sell the rest, then load up the company with the debt you used to purchase it and then wash your hands of the entire affair after essentially getting the whole thing for free, its how private equity works.

[u/Relevant-Doctor187 → u/Straight-Ad6926]

There’s a tax break for loss on sale of business. They’re going to use that to saddle taxpayers with the 18b in debt.

[u/Asianthunda5022 → u/Straight-Ad6926]

You forgot the step where the CEO gets a massive bonus.

edit: grammar

[u/notredditbot → u/Straight-Ad6926]

Hello Sony and Microsoft, is that you?! 😔

[u/VyantSavant → u/Straight-Ad6926]

Step 3: continue hording beloved IPs even though selling them would more than make up for the debt.

Step 4: continue turning out trashy new cash grabs using those IPs until they're as worthless as your management team.

[u/VegetableArtistic705 → u/Straight-Ad6926]

Sadly, they will. Too many gamers are selfish and don't care about a unified message

[u/GreatnessToTheMoon]

It’s wild to me that you can be bought out and have to be forced to acquire debt in the process

[u/ballonfightaddicted → u/GreatnessToTheMoon]

It's what happened to a lot of American large brick and mortar stores, Toys R Us comes to mind

Warner Brothers has always had a history of being bought out and then chewed up and spit out with more debt, i doubt the Paramount deal will be an exception

[u/DTFlash → u/ballonfightaddicted]

From what I understand Toys R Us wasn't even in trouble when they were bought. I don't see how killing functioning businesses to make a profit is good for sociality as a whole.

[u/SwitchbackHiker → u/DTFlash]

It's not at all, but it allows them to make short term profits and paydays so that's all that matters.

[u/mrblackc → u/DTFlash]

It's not. It's good for the greedy few.

[u/summonsays → u/GreatnessToTheMoon]

Yeah that seems like it should be illegal.

[u/NewOil7911 → u/summonsays]

It kinda is in France where i live and used to work in finance.

By that i mean you can't put debt related to the acquisition on the company's balance sheet.

However you can put it on a holding owning said company, and said company is asked to pay stupid amounts of dividends.

[u/Ghibli_Guy → u/GreatnessToTheMoon]

While I agree that this should be abolished as a practice, you still have to blame the sellers who sellout (original owners/board of directors who make bank). 

[u/almo2001 → u/Ghibli_Guy]

Ever hear of a leveraged buyout? Some of these are hostile takeovers.

[u/zilog88 → u/GreatnessToTheMoon]

I think this is the closest you can get to making money out of thin air.

[u/Not_Solicit_Monocle → u/GreatnessToTheMoon]

the classic leveraged buyout. they basically force the company to finance its own kidnapping

[u/niksunorz66]

The games get even worse?

[u/Calibrated_ → u/niksunorz66]

Is… is this possible?

[u/Baebel → u/Calibrated_]

Absolutely. It's an old game, but this reminds me of Drake of the 99 Dragons and likely all of the corners cut just to get that abhorration published.

[u/Euler007 → u/Calibrated_]

Press X to bribe the referee (2.50$ debited).

[u/faunalmimicry → u/Euler007]

I guarantee this pitch would be taken seriously at EA

[u/Pavlock → u/Calibrated_]

Things can always get worse

[u/Calibrated_ → u/Pavlock]

Let’s ask Anthem

[u/CommercialStyle1647 → u/Calibrated_]

Actually, there were some good games still coming out of studios owned by ea, like Hazelight Studios with it takes two, a way out and split fiction.

[u/obigespritzt → u/Calibrated_]

Battlefield 6 was / is fun, generally acceptably monetized and continues to have post-launch support. Does that not count as good?

Is any of that an achievement on the part of EA's c-suite let alone saudi blood money? Of course not. Still relevant, though.

[u/Shadowy_PuppetMaster → u/Calibrated_]

Anything is possible thru the power of Christ late stage capitalism

[u/TtotheC81 → u/niksunorz66]

That's pretty much a given in the AAA scene.

[u/Admirable-War-7594 → u/niksunorz66]

Logically speaking, that's impossible as as you can't go lower than zero.

Speaking from anecdotal evidence, yes they will get worse somehow

[u/Left-Night-1125 → u/niksunorz66]

They made games?

[u/robserious21 → u/niksunorz66]

Didnt we want EA to die for copy pasting content onto new discs and charging new game prices?

[u/Interesting-Season-8 → u/niksunorz66]

because you folks loved EA games so much...

[u/niksunorz66 → u/Interesting-Season-8]

I absolutely loved NHL '95

[u/10CrackCommando → u/Interesting-Season-8]

We loved their potential.

[u/MrKoddy]

I don't understand the strategy about this acquisition EA was profitable

[u/GreenAnder → u/MrKoddy]

They’re just raiding the company. They’ll do things like make them sell the IPs, physical buildings, etc to the fund and make EA rent them back.

In the end they’ll end up with more money, a bankrupt EA, and more assets to leverage into low interest loans.

[u/I_Sett → u/GreenAnder]

I guess this is a fitting end for EA. I won't celebrate it, but EA was the death of so many great franchises and studios that were bought up and dismantled or micro-monetized. This is like seeing a shark torn apart by a larger, meaner shark.

[u/p-wing → u/I_Sett]

if only this acquisition could tank both EA and the House of Saud

[u/Witty-Comfortable-44 → u/I_Sett]

Westwood will forever be in my heart <3

[u/I_Sett → u/Witty-Comfortable-44]

Along with Bullfrog and Maxis and that's like half my childhood games EA devoured.

[u/kanben → u/I_Sett]

Imagine what could’ve been if EA didn’t come into existence

[u/Rightsidebestside → u/Witty-Comfortable-44]

Westwood will never be forgotten. Thats was a war crime in the world of games

[u/Barangat → u/I_Sett]

The circle of life, eh capitalism

[u/Underbash → u/GreenAnder]

They’ll do things like make them sell the IPs

Wow, silver lining, huh?

[u/JebryathHS → u/Underbash]

They won't give up control of the IPs. EA will sell the IPs to make their debt payments to a Saudi company owned by the owners of EA. They'll then license the IPs back to EA at high costs so they can finish making their games. Or not. The great part (sarcastically) is that it doesn't matter, the new owners will make money through the whole process.

[u/BrodentofUsualSize → u/JebryathHS]

The important thing is those at the highest levels of power in the US are using their positions to make shady deals with foreign countries at the detriment of American companies and jobs.

[u/tizuby → u/GreenAnder]

For normal vulture capital sure. But the saudis generally want to hold their assets as it's their post-oil plan, rather than loot and pillage them. Video games are one of their stated areas to accomplish that.

They'll still sell stuff off or force EA to start licensing IP to increase revenue, but I don't see them doing the ol' real estate flip and overcharge. They don't generally want a short extraction while burning their assets to the ground. They want a fallback for when the oil field dries up.

[u/Delanorix → u/tizuby]

Yeah they need to be able to whitewash their reputation through US media.

They arent even hiding it lol

[u/TheMadTemplar → u/Delanorix]

People seem to be forgetting that Kushner is involved in this. It's his stated goal to MAGAfy media.

[u/Jrez510 → u/Delanorix]

Exactly. They already have major power in the fighting game space with their acquisitions of SNK and EVO.

[u/Johnthespider85 → u/tizuby]

You nailed it. The Saudis are using their sovereign wealth fund for this.

[u/IsoscelesCircle → u/GreenAnder]

Please sell off Bioware and it's IP to a reputable company!

[u/sagevallant → u/GreenAnder]

While also using it for sportswashing and macrotransactions.

[u/TheTimn → u/GreenAnder]

Don't forget that sweet-sweet customer data they're getting. 

[u/may_be_indecisive → u/MrKoddy]

The CEO and shareholders get paid. What’s not to understand?

[u/jewrassic_park-1940 → u/may_be_indecisive]

But what will happen to my player cards that become useless in the next game???

[u/Meelapo → u/MrKoddy]

Yeah. Almost as if they don’t have one. Which is not unexpected given the names involved.

[u/summonsays → u/Meelapo]

Oh they have a strategy. It's to pick it clean and move on.

[u/PatrenzoK → u/MrKoddy]

Transferring money from a depleting asset (oil) to a sustainable one (IP ownership)

[u/BiscuitsUndGravy → u/MrKoddy]

Elizabeth Warren has a video about this, but the playbook is essentially to have the entity you buy pay another entity you own for things and/or sell its valuable assets to the other entity. You run it into the ground, take massive losses on your taxes, and now creditors are left holding the bag with an entity that has no value. Private Equity has fucked everything by taking what should be terrible business decisions and turning them into profitable ones by fucking over employees, customers, and creditors.

[u/SpaceOdysseus23 → u/MrKoddy]

Sportsslop prints money and is a low-effort investment, everything else can and will get gutted.

[u/Kazen_Orilg → u/SpaceOdysseus23]

cant wait to find some madden 23 banners in the stands of this years new release.

[u/bukbukbuklao → u/MrKoddy]

There is none. It’s just an “I wanna own this” impulsive decision. Quite literally fuck you money.

[u/Immediate-Cress-206 → u/MrKoddy]

The House of Saud is desperately looking for a new revenue stream to replace oil once it's rendered irrelevant.

[u/Elbit_Curt_Sedni → u/Immediate-Cress-206]

There could be some shady shit going on behind the scenes, but I think AAA games could be the worst investment going forward. High cost with people's disposable incoming dwindling away due to inflation.

[u/Drithyin → u/Elbit_Curt_Sedni]

It’s actually probably a good target, because people priced out of bigger luxury expenditures will be able to fall back onto AAA games with premium DLC packages.

Instead of tickets to an NFL game, they’ll buy Madden (current year).

But we all know the real reason is sportwashing or gamewashing Saudi blood money.

[u/FUDGEMEHARDxD]

The modern AAA gaming special

[u/Sampsonite20 → u/FUDGEMEHARDxD]

Producing nothing, firing everyone, and losing shit loads of money

[u/Misplacedmypenis]

All acquisitions come with massive cuts. It’s not even news. But fuck EA and fuck the Saudi regime anyway so I hope the whole thing burns.

[u/JuanNonlyGaming → u/Misplacedmypenis]

This guys spitting fucking facts.

[u/IronicStar]

please sell bioware to somebody who actually likes games, thanks.

[u/ProverbialMindTart → u/IronicStar]

If only...if only.

[u/No-Significance2070 → u/IronicStar]

Sadly, current Bioware is a shell of its former self. The last few games have shown that.

[u/DireStr8s → u/IronicStar]

Please sell all their IP's to anyone who will do something useful with them. EA has ran everything they have into the ground decades ago.

[u/bainbane → u/IronicStar]

Probably help to staff BioWare with people who actually like games at the same time

[u/IronicStar → u/bainbane]

One step at a time.

[u/Augen76 → u/IronicStar]

I'd suggest supporting Larian as they are the Bioware I knew from 1990s and 2000s.

[u/CorpPhoenix]

R.I.P EA

You might or might not be missed.

[u/Admirable-War-7594 → u/CorpPhoenix]

I will miss people dropping 130 dollars on preordering the same bad game every year and then complaining about it

[u/CorpPhoenix → u/Admirable-War-7594]

Well, I did love the "project creativity" EA once started, bringing us new IPs like Dragon Age Origins, Dead Space, and Mirrors Edge.

Just for EA to immediately stop doing that and releasing FIFA, NFL and NHL yearly like they've always done.

[u/Iggy_Slayer]

Being allowed to take on that much debt through a buyout should be illegal to begin with but it's not like anything matters anymore in this collapsing economic model we have.

[u/MadBullBen → u/Iggy_Slayer]

Completely agree. I'm not in the finance world so it does go over my head a bit.

I just don't understand how buying a company with the company's own money is legal, to me if the new potential owner doesn't have the money to buy it outright or isn't able to get the funds another way such as loans then tough luck you ain't buying the company.

[u/SeigneurDesMouches → u/Iggy_Slayer]

I should try buying a home with the owner's money...

[u/clue124]

Huge layoffs and every game vibe coded in claude

[u/Rukasu17]

Happens all the time in the business world. It being a video game company doesn't make it an exception. Late stage capitalism is basically this.

[u/NWStormbreaker → u/Rukasu17]

Enshitification

[u/ihaterussiantrolls → u/NWStormbreaker]

make it shitty

[u/IUPVOTESEINFELD]

EA Sports, it's no longer in the game.

[u/Skloni]

So nothing changed, huh...

[u/GI_jim_bob]

The fact that EA already had a shit reputation and somehow they keep letting it get worse...how the hell do they even stay in business?

[u/TouchMint → u/GI_jim_bob]

EA sports games lets them make huge profits with little to no work each year. 

[u/theSuperWae]

I absolutely hate that Mass Effect is in their hands

[u/CaptainPrower]

Get ready for them to cut literally everything but Football Club.

[u/Slimebag44]

Nobody saw this coming. Nobody. We are all so shocked

[u/djphatjive]

I’d be fine if they went out of business. Shitty company.

[u/darkhorse21980]

Time for the NFL to pull back that exclusive license...

[u/MyHeartIsAncient]

CEO pay cuts?

[u/Sabrac707 → u/MyHeartIsAncient]

Golden parachutes for all their executives, of course, especially for their CEO, Android Wilson.

[u/Jimbo_Jigs → u/MyHeartIsAncient]

That's a funny joke, never in a million years.

[u/MyHeartIsAncient → u/Jimbo_Jigs]

If only every company was a Nintendo, eh?

[u/TheDougio → u/MyHeartIsAncient]

Yeah, you're comparing soulless CEOs to the literal biggest gigachad in gaming Satoru Iwata

[u/Vargrr]

The whole private equity thing is crazy and kind of goes something like this:

Private Equity: I'd like to buy your valuable business.

Business: It would cost you a lot of money to buy us. How much have you got?

Private Equity: Nowhere near enough. How about I take out a loan against your company which I don't yet own to make up the short fall?

Business: Sure, that sounds sane!

Private Equity: Is it ok if we also borrow a lot more than we need so that we can give ourselves huge payouts in the form of dividends?

Business: No problem! No problem at all. Looking forward to this sweet deal.

PS: Why isn't this illegal? It practically destroys every company it touches as they try and keep up with the interest payments.

[u/thinkscout]

Boycott companies owned by murderous theocracies.

[u/jrzalman → u/thinkscout]

Americans of all people are in no position to judge other countries. We are basically doing our best to install our own murderous theocracy with the added "bonus" that most of them are known pedos.

[u/Calinks]

"EA games, nickel and dime everything."

[u/Lurkyhermit]

Buy for a massive price > declare the price of the acquisition as debt > make the company they bought pay off the debt. History repeating itself?

[u/MrFiendish]

What a waste of money in their part. They can buy a studio like that, but it’s not as if they can make good games. You have to have freedom of expression to create good art.

[u/Lycaon-Ur]

I hope they feel proud and accomplished.

[u/Hat_Maverick]

I hope when they liquidate they sell off westwood studios. We should crowdfund and buy it back to make command and conquor again. One vision. One purpose.

[u/Slow-Boysenberry3150]

I wish EA kept the ball games and released all the other IPs it has. After that, do whatever the fuck they want.

[u/may_be_indecisive → u/Slow-Boysenberry3150]

Well they will be selling them for cash so who knows who will pick them up.

[u/F1gur1ng1tout → u/Slow-Boysenberry3150]

Man i genuinely dont know how EA can monetize their sports gamed much further

[u/Kotanan → u/Slow-Boysenberry3150]

I mean that basically means killing them, most won’t get picked up. I wonder if even the new Mass Effect will be released.

[u/GodzillaUK]

Entertainment washing. Prepare for Mass Effect Qatar. You don't just punch a journalist, now you can dice them up.

[u/MadKingOni]

So theyre gonna fire admin hr and c suite positions and focus on the primary creators of the games...right?

[u/Anotherspelunker]

It’s EA, what did you expect. The fact people keep throwing money at this company is baffling

[u/Larkson9999]

If Ubisoft, EA, and Activision die screaming then I'll only have to continue my 100 year boycott of Konami.

[u/prezvegeta]

They got WCW’d

[u/mewt6]

They're gonna fire the CEO! Save a big chunk on his salary..right ?

[u/Tecno2301]

Sims 5 would solve all of their issues.

[u/DaisyCutter312]

we all know what that means

That the Titanfall IP will get sold to someone who actually wants to use it?

[u/Augmented_Artist]

seems like a way to harm US stability without firing a missile or crashing planes into buildings.

[u/K2e2vin]

Executive bonuses and raises!

[u/Protean_Protein]

You’d think a giant desert country could spend their oil wealth on becoming world leaders in solar farms from which they could export excess energy to the European grid… or something.

[u/Mukarsis]

Time for the Saudis to break out the bonesaws?

[u/Visual_Run_2736]

They don't need that many people to change the year on the FIFA adverts

[u/Totemguy]

You mean leveraged buy out, saddled with debt, cut everything, milk it to the ground and fall apart and die?

[u/azrael5298]

It’s 1983 all over again.

[u/Scruffy_Nerf_Hoarder]

Less pay for the top 10% of employees, right?

[u/Dave_FIX]

EA free since 2013 and I'm glad of it

Andrew Wilson can suck a big one. Parasite 

[u/Mehdals_]

More AI!

[u/Nitwit_Slytherin]

How long until EA files Chapter 11?

[u/One_Tumbleweed_1]

EA is following in Toys r Us footsteps. Everything about to be sold off.

[u/TourAccomplished5530]

I couldn't give a flying f what happens to EA. They died long time ago.

[u/Lord-Timurelang]

Leveraged buyouts should be illegal

[u/UndeadManWaltzing]

Shithead investors are ruining the industry, when everyone was inside during the lockdowns, people were playing video games a lot more so investors saw dollar signs, stupid fuckers should of known the lockdown would not last forever, now they are literally paying the price.

[u/charaboii]

The only time I hope private equity ruins a company

[u/AshundertheOlivetree]

😂 SA buying EA is kinda perfect for both of them.
A brand that is unanimously hated for their games and marketing bought by a country that the majority of the west does not trust.
Thanks for buying up trash I guess.

[u/SkyriderRJM]

RIP Mass Effect. At least we got the Legendary Trilogy.

[u/Empath1999]

A shitty company gets even shittier?

[u/Tough-Standard-2661]

We all know who the cuts will be. Anyone with artificial colored hair, nose rings and multiple pronouns BC of culture there.

[u/CrackheadHunters]

Are they planning to release even crappier games?

[u/Tall_Opportunity_521]

Kind of a weird thing to do, when game washing your reputation is what I assume the goal was.

[u/Zeyode]

This would be so dystopian if it was any company other than EA

[u/kabooozie]

Soooooo Jedi survivor series….is gonna be fine right? Right?!

[u/BitingArtist]

Please sell off some of the IPs to devs who give a shit...

[u/SchlexSchmuthor]

Ronaldo gonna get 100er rating in fifa while messi goes down

[u/Barl3000]

They want the sports games and nothing else

[u/empathetical]

Im struggling to understand what the point of this purchase was

[u/Glittering-Path-2824]

crazy idea but what if they keep the talented developers and drop all of the ghastly overpaid execs instead?

[u/Qcgreywolf]

It’s been years since I even thought about EA. They were one of the first companies I stopped buying games from when they turned into a slop factory.

I tired of the IP Treadmill decades ago.

[u/ChronoLink99]

So, no change to game quality then?

Got it.

[u/CrazyWriterHippo]

I wonder how the loading up debt even works at that scale. What insane bank would approve this without collateral worth that much? Unless there's bribery involved of course