Video game maker Electronic Arts today agreed to be taken private in what would be the largest leveraged buyout ever, by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake Partners and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners.

💰 By the numbers: The total deal value is $55 billion, or $210 per share in cash.

• 📈 That's a 25% premium to where EA shares closed last Thursday before WSJ scooped the deal, and more than two times where they traded in mid-January.
• 💵 The three equity sponsors will contribute $36 billion, including the 9.9% existing stake in EA that the Saudi fund is rolling over in the buyout.
• 🏦 JPMorgan is committing $20 billion of debt financing.

Context: The current record holder for largest leveraged buyout is TXU at $45 billion, which included $13 billion of assumed debt. The EA deal is obviously larger, although TXU maintains its crown if dollars get adjusted for inflation.

• The largest gaming deal ever came two years ago, when Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard for $69 billion.

🇸🇦 The intrigue: This might be just as much about geopolitics as it is about cashflow from EA's next iteration of Madden NFL.

• Saudi Arabia has pushed hard into gaming, including the $4.9 billion Scopely takeover.
• 🕹️ Part of this is economic diversification for the oil-reliant kingdom, but part of it also is about global influence. Many of the world's young people speak gaming as their second language, and these deals give Saudi more direct access.

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President Trump this morning pledged to impose the 100% tariff on foreign-made movies he first promised in May, saying the film business had been "stolen" from the U.S., Axios' Ben Berkowitz and Christine Wang write.

Zoom in: Details — like how they'd be levied and who they'd be levied on — are limited. But two possibilities are that they'd be calculated off box office sales or production budgets.

• 🍿 If tied to box office, many upcoming films would have "virtually no chance of turning a profit," Jacob Jensen, trade policy analyst at the American Action Forum, noted in July. Even if applied to profits, the tariff would likely hike ticket prices, licensing fees and at-home sales.
• 🎥 A tariff on production costs would have a more limited impact, especially if limited to a film's foreign spending, but it could still raise ticket prices.

🪑 What we're watching: The director's chair could be facing fresh tariffs too.

• In a separate Truth Social post this morning, Trump said he plans to impose "substantial Tariffs" on furniture not made in the U.S. He teased: "Details to follow!!!"

📺 Comcast elevated president Mike Cavanagh to the role of co-CEO alongside Brian Roberts. The move establishes a clear line of succession for the cable giant. (NYT)

🚂 CSX named Steve Angel, a veteran of the gases and engineering industry, as its new CEO. He replaces Joe Hinrichs, who is departing abruptly amid activist pressure. (Bloomberg)

🛒 Kroger agreed to provide grocery delivery through DoorDash. The chain previously allowed only its flowers, sushi and prepared meals to be delivered through the third-party app. (AP)

For the first time in nearly a decade, McDonald's is reviving its Monopoly game, with both physical peel-off stickers and new app-based digital pieces, Axios' Kelly Tyko writes.

Why it matters: The promo is a nostalgia play, but one that comes with baggage.

• 🕵️‍♂️ An insider scam uncovered in the early 2000s stole nearly $24 million in prizes and triggered an FBI probe that was chronicled in HBO's 2020 docuseries McMillion$.

Zoom in: The revamped game now runs through the McDonald's app, with safeguards, security protocols and independent audits to ensure fairness.

What's next: The game goes from Oct. 6 to Nov. 2, but game pieces can be played through Nov. 23.

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