The Communications Workers of America Canada called on the federal government on May 8 to formally review the pending $55-billion buyout of Electronic Arts under the Investment Canada Act. The consortium taking EA private — Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners — already won shareholder approval in December 2025 and is targeting close in Q1 of EA’s fiscal 2027.
The union’s argument rests on two things. First, EA employs roughly 2,300 Canadians across studios in Vancouver, Edmonton and Montreal, including the team behind EA Sports FC. Second, $20 billion of the $55-billion price tag is debt financing committed by JPMorgan — debt that, in any leveraged buyout, becomes the acquired company’s burden to service. Industry analysts have flagged layoffs as one of the most likely cost-cutting levers post-close.
The national-security framing is more novel. CWA-Canada argues that handing a foreign sovereign wealth fund operational control over the data, telemetry and infrastructure behind games like Madden, FC, Battlefield and Apex Legends warrants the same review that any acquisition of a defence contractor would trigger. Whether the Investment Canada Act is the right tool for that is a question the government has not yet answered publicly.
What it changes for players
Probably nothing in the short run. EA stays headquartered in Redwood City, Andrew Wilson stays as CEO, and the licensed-sports calendar — FC, Madden, NHL — has its own contractual rhythms that survive ownership changes. The longer arc is harder to read. Private-equity-owned game studios have a mixed record: some, like 2K under Take-Two, kept editorial discipline; others, like Embracer’s portfolio, ended up with deep cuts when the debt math tightened.
The Canadian review, if Ottawa grants one, would not block the deal — Investment Canada Act reviews almost never do. It would, however, surface conditions: undertakings on Canadian employment, data-residency commitments, or studio-level autonomy that would be public and enforceable. That is the leverage CWA-Canada is reaching for.