Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund considers merger of Electronic Arts and Savvy Games

The merger of the two companies controlled by the PIF would create a new industry giant. The project could therefore also alarm competition watchdogs.

According to a media report, the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund PIF is considering merging the video game companies Electronic Arts (EA) and Savvy Games. The merger of the two companies controlled by the PIF would create a new industry giant.

Well-known titles such as “EA Sports FC”, “Battlefield” and “The Sims” as well as the Savvy mobile games “Monopoly Go!” and “Pokémon GO” could be united under one roof, the Bloomberg news agency reported on Thursday, citing insiders. However, a final decision has not yet been made.

Such a move is considered unlikely until Savvy completes its $6 billion purchase of Chinese mobile games developer Moonton. The PIF declined to comment, EA and Savvy could not immediately be reached for comment.

The sovereign wealth fund took over EA last month through a consortium for around $55 billion and took it off the stock exchange. However, such a plan could bring into play the competition watchdogs, who have recently strictly scrutinized large transactions in the games industry, including Microsoft's takeover of Activision Blizzard.

The industry is currently struggling with a slowdown after the coronavirus pandemic boom, which has led to cost cutting and layoffs. At the same time, companies are trying to achieve economies of scale and secure reliable sources of income.