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House Labor Caucus, Union Press FTC to Probe Saudi-Led $55 Billion EA Buyout

Regulatory review now stands as the key obstacle following shareholder approval in December.

Overview

  • Forty-six House Democrats in the Congressional Labor Caucus urged the FTC on January 22 to investigate the take-private deal for its potential impact on workers and competition.
  • The CWA-backed United Video Games union sent a letter to the FTC and launched a public petition calling for scrutiny to safeguard jobs and creative freedom.
  • Lawmakers highlighted roughly $20 billion in deal debt and warned it could drive layoffs, offshoring, restructuring, or studio closures at one of the industry’s largest U.S. employers.
  • The caucus cited cross-ownership risks tied to Silver Lake’s links with WME and TKO and PIF’s control of LIV Golf, arguing the structure could enable self-preferencing and anticompetitive coordination.
  • CWA previously asked CFIUS to review national-security issues related to EA’s consumer data and AI work, and reporting has suggested the deal may face limited political resistance due to Affinity’s Jared Kushner connection.