Goldman Sachs is set to earn its highest-ever fee for its role advising on the $55 billion Saudi-backed deal to buy video gaming giant Electronic Arts.
The US bank was the sole adviser to EA when it was bought by a consortium of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners in a deal announced in September.
The massive fees paid are the latest sign of how advisory work and financing packages related to Gulf sovereign wealth funds’ international investments have become crucial to Wall Street’s biggest firms amid a flurry of dealmaking. That’s led bank bosses and private equity titans to spend more time and money in the region.
Goldman will get $110 million for its role, according to an EA filing, which also disclosed that the US bank earned $24.3 million from PIF over the past two years for advisory work and underwriting. That’s in addition to an estimated $500 million in fees paid to banks including JPMorgan which provided $20 billion of debt for the deal.
Goldman has been building up its presence in Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf region. It launched onshore private wealth management services in Riyadh last month, having set up a regional headquarters in the city in 2024.