The President of the American Association of Communications Workers (CWA) sent letters to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the United States Foreign Investment Commission (CFIUS) requesting a comprehensive review of the recently published case of the United States Arts and Electric (EA) takeover. At the end of last month, EA confirmed that it had entered into an acquisition agreement with an investment consortium consisting of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake Capital and Affiliation Partners.
The consortium will acquire the whole of EA, and PIF will incorporate its existing holdings. If the transaction is completed by the first quarter of 2027, it will be “the largest total cash private acquisition in history”. PIF is led by Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, while Affinity Partners was founded by Jared Kouchner, son-in-law of the former President of the United States of America. CWA President Claude Carmines II, noting that this “unprecedented” transaction would “imprison the rights of employees and consumers”, called upon federal regulators to “take all necessary measures to prevent foreign and private equity interests from destabilizing the United States video game industry”. He warned that there were multiple risks to transactions: labour market competition issues arising from the growing integration of the game industry, potential national security risks associated with foreign control of EA technology (including AI) and United States big game users’ personal data and communications records, and competition risks associated with cross-equity EA competitors, suppliers and authorized parties.
“The deal is not about the innovation and growth of the United States economy, but rather the transfer of control to a few powerful investors, putting thousands of jobs and sensitive consumer data at risk.” Claude Camings II stressed that “I urge the Chairman of the CFIUS, Scott Becent, and the Chairman of the FTC, Andrew Ferguson, to examine the deal carefully to ensure that it protects the future of United States employees, consumers and the game industry.” Earlier the same day, the second-quarter financial newspaper released by EA showed that, despite the growth in the sports series, its total sales and sales had declined in comparison to the sales. The net income of EA for the current quarter was $137 million, a significant decrease from $294 million for the same period the previous year. This quarter net booking was $1.82 billion, a 13 per cent decrease over the same period.
