Saudi wealth fund weighs EA-Savvy merger, Bloomberg News reports

Sept 10 (Reuters) - Saudi ‌Arabia's wealth ​fund ​is considering merging Electronic Arts with Savvy Games to create a gaming giant, Bloomberg ‌News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with ⁠the matter.

The merger of the two companies, both controlled ‌by the Public Investment Fund, ‌would create a gaming behemoth spanning franchises, including EA Sports FC, Battlefield and The Sims, and Savvy-owned mobile hits ​such as Monopoly Go! and Pokemon GO.

PIF had acquired EA through a consortium for roughly $55 billion last ⁠month and taken the videogame publisher private.

A final decision on the ​two companies' merger has not been reached and a deal is unlikely to happen ​until Savvy completes its $6-billion acquisition ‌of Chinese mobile gaming business Moonton, the report added.

Electronic Arts and Savvy Games ⁠did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Saudi PIF declined to comment.

Any combination, however, could face ⁠antitrust scrutiny as regulators have taken a close look ​at large gaming-sector transactions in recent years, including Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

The deliberations come as the gaming industry grapples ‌with a post-pandemic slowdown, cost cuts and layoffs, while companies pursue scale ‌and durable recurring revenue.

Savvy's CEO Brian Ward stepped ⁠down last week after ‌overseeing the Saudi-backed ​group's global investment and acquisition push.

(Reporting by Prathik Jayaprakash in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy ‌Leo)

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