Rumor: Electronic Arts Could Go Up For Sale

In a bit of head turning news it would appear that Electronic Arts (EA), a video game developer and publishing giant behind such franchises as “Madden NFL”, “Battlefield” and more, is looking to sell. With everything still hush-hush while discussions are only in the beginning stages, equity giants KKR and Providence Equity Partners have already approached EA about a potential transaction. It should be noted that Providence Equity Partners already own ZeniMax Media the parent company of Bethesda, creators of the ever popular Elder Scrolls series. As such this move would make sense for them as they already have some stake in the gaming industry.

A source talking to the New York Post has said Theyve made it known theyd do a deal at $20 a share, considering EA’s share price is just $13.70 as of this writing. It’s no surprise that the gaming giant would consider a sale as they have lost nearly 37% of their market cap just this year. It also comes on the heels of Activision Blizzard’s explored sale earlier in the year when parent company Vivendi tried to sell its 61% stake.

While it seems a bit unlikely the largest company in the gaming industry would sell, it’s still possible but one has to wonder who would really want to take a gamble this large. Time will tell of course, but considering EA has been struggling with the challenges it’s had to face such as the change to digital distribution, falling sales of $60 games, drops in console sales, and the increase in free to play and mobile games grabbing consumer attention. It doesn’t help that consoles, games and accessories sales have fallen 20% in July alone, which just adds to the long stretch of declining sales since last November. Simply put it seems like a hard road ahead for EA, even if they sell it’s not going to be easy restoring the industry giant to it’s former glory.