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# Who Really Owns EA Now?
- URL: https://www.theinvestorsociety.com/who-really-owns-ea-now/
- Published: 2026-08-05T13:48:57.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-05T13:48:57.000Z
- Author: Jose Kont
- Tags: The Daily Dealflow

Hi, and welcome to a new edition of [The Daily Dealflow](https://www.theinvestorsociety.com/tag/the-daily-dealflow/) — the 5-minute briefing that gives you clear context on capital flows and market-moving trends across the Americas, from Silicon Valley to Buenos Aires. Let's dive in.

## 🏆 Deal of the Day

Electronic Arts' $55 billion take-private buyout — the largest leveraged buyout in history — officially closed today, with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners taking the video-game giant off public markets for $210 per share in cash, per [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/aug/05/video-game-maker-ea-bought-by-saudi-led-group?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).

Kushner's role goes well beyond Affinity Partners' modest 1.1% slice of the cap table. [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-30/kushner-s-secret-saudi-talks-paved-way-for-55-billion-ea-deal?ref=theinvestorsociety.com) reported that Donald Trump's son-in-law personally brokered the introduction between EA and PIF and stayed a central figure in the negotiations for months, reportedly pushing the deal forward when momentum stalled mid-year. That has pulled the transaction into a political controversy that has little to do with gaming: House Judiciary Democrats, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin, have opened scrutiny into Kushner's dual role as a Trump administration Middle East envoy and a private-equity manager collecting billions from the same Gulf sovereign funds he negotiates with, calling it a "glaring and incurable conflict of interest," per [Kotaku](https://kotaku.com/electronic-arts-officially-belongs-saudi-arabia-jared-kushner-now-2000721666?ref=theinvestorsociety.com). 

**Why This?**: It's the biggest live test yet of how much leverage U.S. credit markets can absorb, with $20B in new JPMorgan-arranged debt setting the tone for the next wave of American mega-buyouts.

**Positive Context:**

- EA's operating cash flow reached $2.55B in FY26 with gross margins near 79%, giving the sponsors real cash flow to service the new debt.
- The $210 offer sat at a 25% premium to EA's unaffected price, and CFIUS cleared the deal weeks ahead of its September deadline.

**Yes, but:**

- The $20B debt load pushes pro forma leverage to roughly 7–11x, and Moody's and S&P both placed EA's ratings on review for multi-notch downgrades.
- EA just dethroned TXU's $45B 2007 buyout as the largest LBO ever — and TXU remains the largest LBO bankruptcy on record.

**Zoom in**: PIF alone will hold about 93.4% of the newly private EA, with Silver Lake at 5.5% and Affinity Partners rounding out the cap table at just 1.1%.

> **“EA has created stories, characters, and communities that have become part of everyday life for hundreds of millions of people,”* Kushner said. “*We’re excited to support the company as it continues to reach new audiences, inspire the next generation of creators, and expand the ways people around the world connect through play.”* \-* [*The Guardian.*](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/aug/05/video-game-maker-ea-bought-by-saudi-led-group?ref=theinvestorsociety.com)

## 💰 Venture Capital

[Freehand (US)](https://www.theinvestorsociety.com/freehand-raises-75m-to-put-ai-agents-in-charge-of-fortune-500-supply-chain-spend/) – $75M, seed round, autonomous AI agents that manage supply-chain spend and back-office workflows for Fortune 500 enterprises.

Decade (Brazil) – $85M, seed round, AI-powered wealth advisory platform pairing clients with human financial advisors – [LatamList](https://latamlist.com/decade-raises-85m-seed-round-to-launch-ai-powered-wealth-advisory-platform/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).

[Mariana Minerals (US)](https://www.theinvestorsociety.com/khosla-ventures-leads-310m-series-b-for-mining-startup-mariana-minerals-at-1-5b-valuation/) – $310M, Series B, software-first critical minerals mining and refining platform.

Jusfy (Brazil) – $15M, Series A, AI-powered legal workflow platform with embedded fintech for lawyers – [Startuplinks](https://www.startuplinks.world/noticias/jusfy-recauda-us-15-millones-en-una-serie-a-liderada-por-quona-capital?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).

[P-1 AI (US)](https://www.theinvestorsociety.com/p-1-ai-raises-50m-series-a-led-by-nea-to-scale-its-ai-hardware-engineer/) – $50M, Series A, AI engineer platform for hardware and industrial teams across mechanical, electrical, thermal and systems design.

Einship (Brazil) – $1M, seed round, AI-native market intelligence and operations platform for importers and exporters – [LatamList](https://latamlist.com/einship-raises-1m-seed-round-led-by-parceiro-ventures/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).

[Horizon3 (US)](https://www.theinvestorsociety.com/horizon3-raises-250m-series-e-at-2b-valuation-as-ai-cyberattacks-escalate/) – $250M, Series E ($2B valuation), autonomous penetration-testing platform helping companies detect and fix AI-era cyber threats.

![Amazon generated $717 billion in 2025 revenue, up 12%, with AWS, advertising and subscriptions contributing $246.9 billion beyond its core commerce operations. Source: InvestyWise.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/40/72/4072b0a5-dd13-4755-b3a4-f7b56403df30/content/images/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-05-at-7.44.45---AM.png)

Amazon generated $717 billion in 2025 revenue, up 12%, with AWS, advertising and subscriptions contributing $246.9 billion beyond its core commerce operations. Source: InvestyWise.

## 🏛️ Private Equity

[Axum Capital Partners (US) ](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260804223241/en/Axum-Capital-Partners-Announces-Acquisition-of-BARCODE?ref=theinvestorsociety.com)agreed to buy a control stake in performance hydration brand Barcode, in partnership with NBA player Victor Wembanyama.

TecsPal (Uruguay) – acquisition, 80% sale to Vensure Employer Solutions, IT asset management platform for distributed teams and remote workforces – [Startups Latam](https://startupslatam.com/tecspal-la-startup-uruguaya-que-crecio-sin-capital-externo-es-adquirida-por-el-grupo-estadounidense-vensure/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).

[Deel (US)](https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/bkeyex0sgl?ref=theinvestorsociety.com#google%5Fvignette) acquired Clarity, an NYC-based deepfake security startup that had raised over $300m from Walden Catalyst Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Fusion, Secret Chord Ventures, Ascend Ventures, and Flying Fish Partners. 

[Trinity Hunt Partners (US)](https://www.trinityhunt.com/news/trinity-hunt-partners-establishes-steadpoint-industrial-services?ref=theinvestorsociety.com) acquired Northline Industrial, a Redford, Mich.-based industrial aftermarket MRO.

## 📈 Public & Capital Markets

![Opening Market Figures, Wed 5 Aug, 2026.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/40/72/4072b0a5-dd13-4755-b3a4-f7b56403df30/content/images/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-05-at-7.45.58---AM.png)

Opening Market Figures, Wed 5 Aug, 2026.

SpaceX (US) – $7.8B Q2 revenue, first earnings report as a public company, beat analyst estimates and sent the stock up 9.4% – [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-04/spacex-exceeds-revenue-estimates-in-first-earnings-since-ipo?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).

YPF (Argentina) – 10-for-1 stock split effective today, cutting nominal share value to widen access for retail investors – [El Cronista](https://www.cronista.com/finanzas-mercados/split-ypf-como-impacta-el-101-en-los-que-tienen-acciones-y-quienes-quieren-comprar/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).

Infinx (US), a health care RCM company backed by KKR and Norwest Venture Partners, is weighing an India IPO that could raise up to $300m, per [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-04/kkr-backed-infinx-services-said-to-weigh-300-million-india-ipo?srnd=phx-deals&ref=theinvestorsociety.com).

## 🧑‍💻 The Directory

Here you’ll find a curated list of leaders making notable moves across investment, AI, and tech companies.

- [Francis deSouza](https://www.linkedin.com/in/francisdesouza/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com) just announced he’ll be the new CEO of Scale AI, starting August 10th (prev Google Cloud COO, CEO Illumina).
- [Alex LaPolice](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-lapolice-ba2659112/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com) joined Lightspeed as an NYC-based partner. He previously was with Summit Partners.
- [Bianca Pinasco](https://www.linkedin.com/in/biancapinasco/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com) just joined Google DeepMind’s product team to help build the future of Gemini (prev McKinsey, Stanford GSB).
- [Avi Upreti](https://www.linkedin.com/in/aviupreti/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com) just stepped up as the new MD of Investment Banking at Hebbia.
- [Evan Bacon](https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanbacon/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com) just joined SpaceXAI’s engineering team (prev Head of AI at Expo for almost 9 years).
- [Dean Ball](https://www.linkedin.com/in/dean-ball-66823728/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com) just joined OpenAI as Head of Strategic Futures, after advising the White House on AI policy.
- [Jessica Chew](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-chew-27041911a/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com) just left JP Morgan Chase after 7 years (most recent role was VP of Startup Banking).
- [David Vélez](https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-v%C3%A9lez-1004875/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com) (founder/CEO of Nubank) and [Robin Vince](https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-vince/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com) (CEO of BNY) just joined OpenAI’s board.
- [Dylan Tornay](https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylan-tornay-614373231/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com) joined Evercore as a senior managing director of equity capital markets. He most recently was with Citi.

Are you making a move? [Send us a DM here](https://www.linkedin.com/company/theinvestorsociety/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com) to be featured in next Wednesday’s edition.

## ICYMI

- Meet the college kids running a $12 million [real estate investment business](https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/this-high-powered-real-estate-fund-is-run-by-college-students-11ad5ebb?ref=theinvestorsociety.com).
- The father of the 401(k) says the retirement plan [doesn’t work](https://www.wealthmanagement.com/retirement/the-father-of-the-401-k-has-a-new-savings-plan?ref=theinvestorsociety.com) for many middle- and lower-income Americans.
- Wells Fargo is planning to roll out [tokenized deposits](https://www.wsj.com/finance/banking/wells-fargo-to-roll-out-tokenized-deposits-for-corporate-clients-75c5d2cc?ref=theinvestorsociety.com) for corporate and commercial clients, as the bank attempts to sneak ahead of the competition.
- [Bending Spoons](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/04/bending-spoons-to-buy-airtable-for-1-28b/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com), the Italian tech conglomerate that bought AOL and Vimeo, acquired spreadsheet platform Airtable for $1.28 billion yesterday in its first deal since going public last month.
- [Naoero](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/tiny-pacific-island-nation-nauru-reclaims-traditional-name-naoero-2026-07-30/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com), the Pacific island nation of 12k residents (and the world’s third-smallest country), just officially changed its name from Nauru to restore the spelling and pronunciation used in its native language after decades of going by a name that’s easier for foreigners to say.

*See you tomorrow,*

[***Jose Kont***](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jose-kont/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com)  
*The human behind The Investor Society.*

*Submit a deal for The Daily Dealflow newsletter via DM* [*here on LinkedIn*](https://www.linkedin.com/company/theinvestorsociety/?ref=theinvestorsociety.com)*.*