Chart of the Week
Oct 3, 2025
2 MIN READ
Electronic Arts’ take-private deal highlights growing trend
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Take-private transactions have surged as mega-cap private equity funds increasingly target public companies, focus less on traditional private deals.
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Take-private vs. private equity-backed IPO volume ($B)
Source: Bloomberg Finance, L.P. Pitchbook. Take-private data as of September 30, 2025. PE exits via IPO as of June 30, latest data available.
- Video game giant Electronic Arts (EA) agreed this week to a $55 billion take-private transaction, the largest leveraged buyout on record.
- The deal highlights a broader trend: Investors are increasingly finding opportunity in private markets as companies either stay private for longer or opt to go private via buyout.
- In fact, three of the seven largest U.S. take-private deals in history have occurred this year. Since 2016, these transactions have pulled $2.01 trillion from public markets, while private equity-backed IPOs have totaled just $166 billion, as shown in the chart.1
- Take-private transactions have surged as mega-cap private equity funds increasingly target public companies, but they come at a cost. EA’s take-private purchase price represents a 25% premium over its share price. More broadly, purchase price multiples have ranged from 1.5x to 4.5x the median U.S. buyout over the past decade.2
- By contrast, lower and core middle market PE buyouts remain one of the few areas offering the growth potential of private markets at more attractive valuations than mega-cap deals, providing compelling opportunities when cost discipline matters most.