Canadian union urges national security review of EA buyout deal

A Canadian union is pushing Ottawa to treat Electronic Arts’ $55 billion buyout as a national-security issue, warning that control of one of gaming’s biggest publishers would fall into the hands of a foreign sovereign wealth fund with deep strategic ambitions in the industry.

CWA Canada president Carmel Smyth sent a letter to industry minister Mélanie Joly on May 5, arguing that the proposed take-private deserves close review because of the role of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and EA’s heavy footprint in Canada. EA said on September 29, 2025 that it entered a definitive agreement to be acquired by PIF, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners in an all-cash deal valuing the company at about $55 billion. Stockholders are due to receive $210 per share, and EA has described it as the largest all-cash sponsor take-private in history.

Smyth’s letter says the deal would place EA under near-absolute control of a foreign sovereign wealth fund that is being used to advance Saudi Arabia’s goal of becoming a global gaming and esports hub. Saudi Arabia’s National Gaming and Esports Strategy sets targets of 39,000 jobs by 2030 and 250 gaming companies, which is part of why the union says this is not a routine merger but a contest over who controls major entertainment infrastructure, jobs and data.

The Canadian stakes are especially sharp because EA has studios in Quebec, Vancouver, Toronto and Victoria. Company materials say Vancouver is one of EA’s largest and oldest studios, while BC Tech says EA employs 1,800 people in British Columbia at two development studios. CWA Canada says that scale means the transaction could affect thousands of Canadian workers and raise questions about how sensitive personal data from millions of Canadians would be handled if the company came under foreign state influence.

The union’s warning lands in a regulatory climate that is already more cautious than it was two years ago. On March 1, 2024, Canada said foreign investments in the interactive digital media sector by entities owned or influenced by foreign states, especially states that may pose national-security risks, would face enhanced scrutiny. Under the Investment Canada Act, Ottawa can review foreign investments of any size for possible national-security harm, and the government can impose conditions, order further review or force divestment if a deal has already closed.

CWA Canada is not limiting its pressure to Ottawa. The Communications Workers of America has also urged U.S. regulators to scrutinize the EA transaction over worker, consumer, data and national-security concerns. With Andrew Wilson still running EA from Redwood City, the fight is now stretching well beyond one boardroom and into a broader argument over whether game publishers are becoming strategic assets that governments will no longer let slide through on autopilot.