Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: FTC Chair Ferguson urged to review proposed acquisition of Electronic Arts, (Jan 27, 2026)

By Peter Reap, J.D., LL.M.

The Labor Caucus is concerned about labor market effects that could result from the proposed takeover of EA, one of the country’s largest video game industry employers.

Over 40 Democratic members of the Labor Caucus in the U.S. Congress have sent a letter requesting a thorough investigation into the labor market consequences of the proposed acquisition of Electronic Arts (EA) by a consortium comprised of the Public Investment Fund (the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia), and private equity firms Silver Lake and Affinity Partners. EA announced in September 2025 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by the consortium in an all-cash transaction that values EA at an enterprise value of approximately $55 billion. EA is one of the largest employers of video game workers in the United States and the lawmakers are concerned that “the transaction could expand EA’s labor-market dominance by combining the company’s already substantial share of employment in the video-game industry with new avenues for vertical integration and cross-industry leverage.”

According to the lawmakers, evidence already suggests that EA wields significant wage-setting power. For example, they cite EA’s own disclosures revealing a steep decline in median worker pay year-over-year. This, they contend, indicates that the company may already face limited competitive pressure to retain or reward talent. According to the congressmen, EA has eliminated more than 1,700 U.S. jobs since 2023, contributing to an industry-wide total of over 35,000 layoffs since 2022. “These trends are deeply concerning as they signal a labor market where workers already have fewer alternatives and employers can impose deteriorating conditions without consequence.”

The lawmakers assert that the merger could violate the antirust laws, and raise possible negative consequences including increased market dominance, interlocking directorates, and no-poach practices:

[T]he FTC’s 2023 Merger Guidelines make clear that mergers harming workers, suppressing wages, or enabling dominant firms to reduce labor demand may violate antitrust laws. Given the scale of this acquisition and EA’s current dominance over the domestic video-game labor market, we believe careful scrutiny of this deal is essential. The transaction also raises serious concerns about interlocking directorates and common ownership across competing game publishers. This kind of overlap heightens the risk of coordinated anti-labor practices, including wage suppression, hiring restrictions, or informal no-poach dynamics and could further weaken the already limited bargaining power workers have in this industry. These risks should weigh heavily as the Commission evaluates whether the acquisition would leave workers more vulnerable to coordinated or unilateral harms.

If allowed to proceed, the merger could also lead to restrictions on worker mobility and reduced employee bargaining power:

[T]he transaction could expand EA’s labor-market dominance by combining the company’s already substantial share of employment in the video-game industry with new avenues for vertical integration and cross-industry leverage. The proposed buyers hold extensive ownership stakes across sports leagues, sports-betting platforms, talent management, and game-development tools. For example, Silver Lake’s ties to WME and TKO, along with PIF’s ownership of LIV Golf, would put EA under the same umbrella as major sports and entertainment brands that its games rely on for key licenses. This level of cross-ownership presents risks of self-preferencing and anticompetitive coordination across these sports, sports-related talent, and sports-related video game business lines. This could, consequently, restrict worker mobility and reduce bargaining power for employees throughout the industry.

The congressmen also note that the proposed deal is to be financed by at least $20 billion in debt, increasing the odds that it could lead to layoffs and/or restructuring leading to closures.

Companies: Electronic Arts, Inc.; the Public Investment Fund; Silver Lake; Affinity Partners

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