Canadian union says the deal threatens jobs, data privacy, and the country's gaming industry
The largest leveraged buyout in history is facing resistance from an unlikely corner: a Canadian labour union.
CWA Canada is pushing the federal government to scrutinise the US$55bn acquisition of Electronic Arts by a consortium comprising Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, and private equity firm Silver Lake.
S&P Global says the deal surpasses the 2007 TXU transaction to become the biggest leveraged buyout on record.
According to CBC News, the union wrote to industry minister Mélanie Joly on Tuesday and to the Competition Bureau in December, asking for the transaction to be reviewed under the Investment Canada Act and the Competition Act.
The deal's structure is notable.
According to S&P Global, financing comprises US$36bn in equity — including PIF's rollover of its existing 9.9 percent stake — and US$20bn in debt led by JPMorgan, pricing EA shares at US$210 each, a 25 percent premium to pre-rumour trading levels.
The EV/EBITDA multiple sits at around 20x, well above the long-term average, and investors are wagering that AI can cut enough from EA's cost base to justify the valuation.
EA chief executive Andrew Wilson will remain in place, with closing expected in the first quarter of EA's fiscal 2027.
CWA Canada president Carmel Smyth says the debt load is precisely what threatens Canadian workers.
As reported by CBC News, the sale's US$20bn debt financing has led analysts to suggest layoffs “are one of the key ways the company will seek to cut costs in order to service its massive debt,” she told the Competition Bureau.
EA operates five offices in Canada and has been present in the country since acquiring Burnaby, BC-based Distinctive Software in 1991, contributing to a $5.1bn domestic video game industry.
Smyth said the pressure to recoup the investment would force buyers to gut studios, consolidate competitors, and “make the cheapest possible product.”
Beyond jobs, the union flagged data security as a concern, warning that the deal would hand a foreign state sensitive personal information on millions of Canadians.
Smyth told CBC News the deal raises data privacy concerns, warning that financial and health information can be “shared and used without game users' knowledge or permission or consent.”
Saudi Arabia, she added, lacks “the kind of regulation, accountability and transparency that we might expect in Canada.”
Regulators have been largely silent.
The Competition Bureau began reviewing the merger in November 2025 and wrapped the process at the end of March, listing the outcome as “other” — meaning none of the typical results, such as clearing the deal or requiring asset divestitures, applied.
Bureau spokesperson Georgia Simone Fakiolas said the bureau “is required by law to conduct its work confidentially,” while Joly's office cited “the confidentiality provisions of the Investment Canada Act,” CBC News reported.
EA, PIF, Affinity, and Silver Lake did not respond to requests for comment.
S&P Global said the deal sits within a broader shift in private equity capital.
Global buyout dry powder has reached a record US$1.08tn, intensifying pressure on mega-funds to deploy capital into large, high-conviction assets.
Silver Lake and PIF's lead roles mark a departure from traditional Wall Street-led LBO syndicates, with sovereign wealth capital and tech-focused private equity now willing to outbid conventional buyout players for IP-rich digital platforms.
EA, with roughly US$7.5bn in annual revenue and franchises including “EA Sports FC,” “Madden NFL,” and “The Sims,” fits that profile precisely.
The deal is not expected to close until mid-2027, leaving the regulatory window open — and CWA Canada intends to use it.
