Electronic Arts has for years been coveted by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and the billionaire dealmaker Egon Durban. But it was Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner who unlocked its $55bn takeover.
Kushner, who is married to Trump’s eldest daughter Ivanka, began sketching out the largest buyout in Wall Street history earlier this year with Durban, who co-heads tech-focused private equity group Silver Lake.
They approached EA, codenamed “Eagle” by the dealmakers, with a firm bid about a month ago. Facing a powerful group of bidders with influence stretching from Riyadh to Washington, EA’s board dug in to extract the highest possible price.