#149 🎮 Electronic Arts Acquired in $55 Billion Private Equity Megadeal

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We’re talking about what could be the biggest PE deal in history. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Jared Kushner’s (yup that guy) Affinity Partners and PE firm Silver Lake are taking the video game giant private in a $55 billion transaction: $36 billion in cash and existing equity (held by PIF), plus $20 billion in debt financing from JPMorgan. EA shareholders will cash out $210 per share, 25% over the September 25 closing price of $168.32. Ka-ching.

In other surprising news, a fight has broken out in the running world. Strava has just sued Garmin over patent infringements, demanding that Garmin stops selling devices that include related features (heatmaps and segments). Yikes. This one will likely run and run.

Sports Tech Monthly Investment Roundup

The data is a snapshot from our SportsTechDB. with only highlights included in this newsletter edition. Head there for more in-depth data.

September 2025 marked a quieter month on the funding side but a massive spike in M&A. A two-sided tale: while funding slowed sharply to $75.4 million across 13 rounds, M&A activity surged with $1.6 billion in disclosed volume from 5 deals. The month underlined how consolidation is increasingly driving the market even as new funding cooled. This is not counting the record breaking EA deal, which would massively skew the figures.

Here’s a quick summary:

• Geography: Funding was overwhelmingly concentrated in North America (82.2%), with Asia-Pacific contributing 14.6% and minimal activity from Europe.
  M&A activity, however, was led by Europe (60% of deals by count), with North America making up the remaining 40%.

• Sectors: Funding was dominated by the ‘For Fans’ sector (67.6%), with the rest flowing into ‘For Athletes’ (32.4%).
  M&A leaned toward ‘For Athletes’ (40%), followed by ‘For Executives’ (20%) and ‘For Fans’ (20%).

• Top Deals: Sports Illustrated Tickets raised $50 million in debt financing, the largest disclosed funding round of the month.

  Separately, Oura is reportedly raising $875 million in a Series E round at an $11 billion valuation, a deal that would mark one of the largest in the wearable space this year.

  On the M&A side, PrizePicks was acquired by Allwyn for $1.6 billion, driving nearly all of the disclosed M&A volume. (which is aside of the EA deal which has not been included in our dealflow figures, as EA is primarily a game maker, outside our sports tech investment radar.)

Top News from the World of Sports Tech & Biz

🏈 The NFL and AWS launched the annual Big Data Bowl focused on predicting player movement using advanced analytics.

🏃 Strava has sued Garmin for infringing on patents related to segments and heatmaps-core features that let athletes compare times and find popular routes. Strava is demanding Garmin stop selling devices with these features, which is the majority of Garmin’s devices.

⛳ The PGA TOUR launched PGA TOUR CENTRAL, a new app and website replacing TOUR LINKS to modernize player and team engagement.

📊 WHOOP launched Advanced Labs, integrating clinician-reviewed blood testing with wearable data to provide members a comprehensive health profile.

📺 NBCUniversal and YouTube TV entered a distribution standoff that could see NBC programming, including Sunday Night Football, pulled from the platform.

📺 Monumental Sports & Entertainment announced its media innovation agenda for Leaders Week London, where CEO Ted Leonsis will highlight in-house content production and global expansion; the company also earned multiple Leaders Sports Awards nominations.

🤿 The athlete-owned NLT Cliff Diving Championship launched with a PTO-style ownership model and content-first strategy, aiming for UK£40m in revenue by 2035.

🏓 YouTube TV added Pickleballtv (PBTV), the first 24/7 pickleball network, following the sport’s 311% participation surge in the past three years.

🏀 The NBA extended its multi-year partnership with AWS to power next-gen basketball innovation.

🏀 The NBA announced it will sell franchises for its Basketball Africa League, expanding its global footprint.

📺 ESPN and FOX launched a $39.99 per month bundle offering ESPN+ and Fox One direct-to-consumer streaming services.

⚽ Sports Illustrated Tickets signed a 12-year fan experience partnership with Tottenham Hotspur, debuting Club SI and The Cover Club at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

🏟️ AC Milan and Inter Milan secured approval to purchase the San Siro, which could lead to the iconic stadium’s demolition.

🤝 Matchroom Boxing partnered with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports International in a new global strategic alliance.

📊 A new study revealed that women sports fans, who are projected to control 75% of global discretionary spending by 2030, remain overlooked in sports fandom.

Money Talks:

🎮 Electronic Arts (EA), the California-based global gaming giant, agreed to be acquired by PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners in a $55 billion all-cash deal, the largest sponsor-led take-private transaction in history, valuing EA at $210 per share.

⌚ Oura, the Finnish healthtech company behind the smart ring, is reportedly raising $875 million in Series E funding at an $11 billion valuation, with revenues expected to top $1 billion this year.

💸 Midnite, a London-based sports betting and gaming platform, secured a $100 million credit facility to fund marketing, product innovation, and team expansion as it pushes toward Tier 1 operator status.

💰 Scorability, an Austin, Texas-based recruiting platform that helps college coaches discover, evaluate, and connect with athletes, raised $40 million in funding to accelerate its growth in college sports recruiting.

💰 AudioShake, a San Francisco startup building AI tools to separate and remix audio tracks, raised $14 million in Series A funding led by Shine Capital to expand its audio technology for the AI era.

💰 Rival, a New York-based fan engagement platform, raised $2.8 million in first funding and acquired Shake, a Gen Z-focused social gaming platform.

🤝 Allwyn, a multinational lottery operator headquartered in Switzerland, agreed to acquire a 62.3% majority stake in US daily fantasy sports leader PrizePicks for $1.6 billion, marking its entry into the American sports and entertainment market.

💸 Red Bull Ventures, the investment arm of the Austrian energy drink giant, invested in Apex Capital’s athlete-backed venture fund to back startups at the intersection of sports and entertainment.

💸 Lakers executives Joey and Jesse Buss launched Buss Sports Capital, a new sports-focused acquisition firm.

Recap from our content archive:

🔙 STX Article: New Leagues and Emerging Formats

✅ STX Monthly: Last month’s sports tech dealflow, in case you missed it.