Unhedged

The largest leveraged buyout in history?

Sep 30, 2025
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INSIGHT

Political Matchmaking Wins Deals

  • Jared Kushner acted as the matchmaker who brought Silver Lake and Saudi PIF together to mount the EA buyout.
  • The deal reflects geopolitical ties being used as dealmaking currency in large cross-border M&A.
ANECDOTE

How The Buyout Was Assembled

  • Oliver narrates how Kushner met Silver Lake and leveraged his Saudi connections to propose the EA buyout.
  • The pitch framed the purchase as both financial opportunity and Saudi diversification away from oil.
INSIGHT

Equity, Not Debt, Is Dominating Big Deals

  • The EA buyout used an unusually high equity proportion, reflecting private equity and sovereign wealth cash to deploy.
  • That equity-heavy structure reduces interest burden and shows a trend toward less-levered mega-deals.
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