EA acquisition criticised by US lawmakers for "national security risks"

In case you're not aware, recently it was announced that EA - the publisher of Battlefield, EA Sports FC, Star Wars: Jedi and more - would be going private as it is being acquired by a consortium of the Saudi PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners.

The $55 billion deal has drawn the eyes of US lawmakers, and it seems some won't let the deal pass without sufficient scrutiny. In a letter to US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent (caught by Insider Gaming), lawmakers including Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal write that they have "profound concern" about the deal going ahead.

"We urge you and the Committee to apply searching scrutiny to this unprecedented, proposed foreign privatization of a major American technology and entertainment company," reads the letter. "The proposed transaction poses a number of significant foreign influence and national security risks, beginning with the PIF's reputation as a strategic arm of the Saudi government. Saudi Arabia's desire to buy influence through the acquisition of EA is apparent on the face of the transaction—the investors propose to pay more than $10 billion above EA's trading value for a company whose stock has "stagnated for half a decade" in an unpredictably volatile industry."

We saw politician involvement in the Microsoft/Activision Blizzard deal, and it's likely there may be some pushback against the EA acquisition, too. Any time tens of billions of dollars are thrown around, there's sure to be someone raising an eyebrow.