Electronic Arts Shareholders Approve Acquisition by Saudi Arabia
The official acquisition of EA by the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund has been approved by the shareholders of publisher Electronic Arts. In the recent vote, the shareholders consented to a $210 per share acquisition.
Next Steps and Possible Snags
Once the approval of shareholders is a big step in the right direction, though the deal remains rather far from being done, it has to stand up for scrutiny from the regulatory arms. It also cannot be ruled out that the regulators could move to stop this acquisition.
However, the precedent of Microsoft's successfully closing its own acquisition of Activision Blizzard could mean that the regulators may not be able to block this acquisition, leading toward a smooth path for closing the deal.
Internal Sources Disagree on the Acquisition
The acquisition already faced some internal criticism. Some Electronic Arts employees and members of the UVW-CWA union openly protested against the sale. Among their concerns and those raised by employees are the juicy 'golden parachute' compensation packages lined up for EA's top executives-among other things drawing further attention toward the deal's internal dynamics.
