Banks are competing for a share of roughly $500 million in fees from JPMorgan's $20 billion EA buyout deal

Financial institutions across the industry are scrambling to secure a portion of around $500 million in fees connected to JPMorgan Chase’s $20 billion debt package supporting the privatization of Electronic Arts.

Multiple lenders are anticipated to take part in the transaction, according to  Bloomberg’s sources, who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of ongoing talks.

EA, the video game maker, is going private through an acquisition led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake Management, and Affinity Partners, which is run by Jared Kushner. The buyers announced the deal on Monday. JPMorgan served as the sole debt underwriter for the $55 billion purchase, marking the biggest debt commitment a single bank has ever made for this type of transaction.

Several major banks are now reaching out and hoping to secure their position in the deal over the next few weeks, people close to the matter said.

Investment banks eye lucrative fees from EA deal

Banks are eager to play a role in what stands as the largest leveraged buyout in history, hoping to collect some of the most profitable fees available in investment banking. Financial institutions have grown increasingly anxious to supply funding for any of the uncommon buyouts that have emerged since the Federal Reserve began increasing interest rates in 2022.

The EA transaction adds to a recent increase in merger and acquisition activity, with traditional Wall Street banks currently gaining an advantage over their private credit competitors.

The projected $500 million fee comes from an average underwriting rate on leveraged buyouts of roughly 2.5 percent, insiders explained. Banks will divide that sum based on how much of the deal each one takes on.

Debt distribution strategy takes shape

The strategy involves a worldwide group of banks eventually selling dual-currency leveraged loans and high-yield bonds to investors, following standard buyout financing procedures, sources said. The sale will probably take place in 2026, some of the people indicated.
How the transaction ultimately gets structured will depend on what market conditions look like when it launches, they added.

JPMorgan has served as one of EA’s primary lenders for quite some time and headed up a $500 million revolving credit facility for the company in 2023, based on information gathered by Bloomberg. Other banks involved in that credit line included Bank of America, BNP Paribas, and Citigroup.

Several of these same lenders also have experience working alongside Silver Lake, which is based in Menlo Park, on massive buyout transactions. Back in 2013, the private equity company took Dell private in a $24 billion deal that was supported with large-scale debt financing led by banks including Bank of America, Barclays, RBC Capital Markets, and UBS Group.

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