Report: $20 Billion in Debt in the EA Deal is a 'Junk Loan' and Could Include High Interest Rates - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 October 2025 / 3,285 Views
It was announced earlier this week that Electronic Arts (EA) is being acquired and taken private in a $55 billion deal by an investor consortium that includes Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, which is founded and led by Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
The deal includes an equity investment of $36 billion by the investor consortium and $20 billion in debt that will be financed fully by JPMorgan Chase Bank, $18 billion of which is expected to be funded when the deal closes.
Bloomberg is now reporting "expected to be rated in the single-B range" and will be "sold through high-yield bonds and leveraged loans in a cross-border, dual-currency transaction." This is according to multiple people who asked not to be identified as they were discussing.
The sources stated "the final structure of the sale will depend on market conditions at the time of the launch."
Bloomberg's Jason Schreier in a calls this a "junk loan" and is typically will have high interest rates.
"My colleagues at Bloomberg report that the $20 billion debt in the EA deal is expected to be rated single-B — meaning it is considered a 'junk' loan, or one that is high-risk and speculative, typically offering high interest rates. Which the new EA will have to pay," said Schreier.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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This may kill EA. Part of me would relish the opportunity of watching them fall after killing so many promising studios, but i'd rather they had made a triumphant return to glory even if the chances of that occurring were slim to none
If this causes EA's collapse I won't be surprised. The publicity over this would be a nightmare for EA.
Going private would probably be best for all video game companies but maybe not in this fashion. I really wonder if they're going to survive this but seeing as the EA bigwigs passed up a Dead Space 2 Remake it's no wonder somebody was eager to take the wheel. The first remake was really fun and seeing Isaac get his eye stabbed in hyperrealistic 4k with rtx blood simulations would've been cool. Then they would've gotten a chance to retcon whatever inconsequential garbage went on in the third one and actually have us kill the moon in coop. But that's just me hoping. Best case scenario is we get some fun games!!
The worst case scenario is what is far more likely to happen here. They financed this buyout with a high-interest junk loan that puts EA on the hook for $20bn. That means that EA will struggle just to pay the interest on this loan. They are also going to heavily invest in AI as a cost-cutting measure. I expect a laser focus on cash cow franchises like EA Sports and Apex Legends, and Battlefield 6 had better really hit it out of the park. A lot of people couldn't be bothered to show up for the Dead Space 1 remake, so I wouldn't hold my breath on DS2, since there doesn't seem to be a lot of nostalgia for that franchise unless Prince Muhammad bin Salman really, really loves Dead Space.
In your scenario, I would rather them just fold.
Yeah, I think your prediction seems way more likely! Excuse the insidious cat that is my profile picture there is no sarcasm in that statement. I guess let's just pray the Prince knows what's up or that taking the company private somehow conjures a miracle. While EA is not the best of companies, nobody deserves to be let go because some old guy makes a bad decision based purely on finances. I remember the days fondly where EA was publishing the best big IP games there were like the Harry Potter or Lords of the Rings games. I never watched movies as a child so those were my gateway into those IPs. I believe there is hope to be had, mainly because I'm naive but also because while there's a small chance for a miracle there still is a chance. But seeing as I don't know a single thing about finances, I'm just gonna keep hoping and keep my fingers crossed.
He would probably ask for The Undertaker to be in the game, and for Andre the Giant to promote it.
