EA up for sale?

Videogame maker Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is exploring a sale as the company struggles to grow its business amid competition from free online gaming sites, the New York Post reported, citing sources.

The paper reported EA has been approached by private-equity giants KKR and Providence Equity Partners about a potential deal. Representatives for EA weren’t immediately available for comment.

EA is the maker of such popular video games as “SimCity” and “Madden NFL” and had a market value of $4.17 billion as of Wednesday’s close. The paper quotes a source familiar with the company saying EA would do a deal at $20 a share. It last traded above that price in January.

EA has reported mixed results in recent periods as softer demand for console videogames has hurt margins and as it faces increased competition from free-access online games. Last month, EA reported fiscal first-quarter earnings fell 9% as the company’s core revenue slipped.

The company is looking to transform its business model to better compete against rivals such as Zynga Inc. (ZNGA), which has expanded its business to better support Internet-based sales

- Fancensus via New York Post


Maybe hopefully just maybe this will lead to the return of NFL 2K series. If this happens


This also might explain the answer to the secret...

But the article doesn't say anything about majority equity. I dunno, we'll see.

^^^ Yeah I wondered about that as well...

A lot, if not most, of the people that I've met that have worked at EA have said that the trouble in the company has been from the top down & blamed a hostile corporate culture. The folks have all said that the focus is on a cheaper game and not necessarily a better game, and the company really doesn't even have many people familiar with games up top. It would be good for the game industry if they were in different hands, or at least if they had new voices in the boardroom.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. jumped more than 7% to $14 in early trades on Thursday morning on a report that private-equity firms are showing interest in the videogame publisher. According to an article in the New York Post, private-equity firms KKR and Providence Equity have approached EA (US:ea) about "a potential transaction." Providence already owns game publisher Bethesda Softworks. A spokesman for EA said the company does not comment on rumors and speculation. Prior to the report, EA shares had slumped by more than 36% for the year after a strong run-up last year, as the company's high-profile online MMO game "Star Wars: The Old Republic" has failed to grow paying subscribers, along with slumping retail sales across the industry.



Could this be good news for gamers? [pic]

think i might buy it, have to ask father first [pic]

hope this happens