Oak‑Eagle AcquireCo, Inc. has extended the expiration time and settlement date for its tender offers to purchase all of Electronic Arts Inc.’s 1.850% Senior Notes due 2031 and 2.950% Senior Notes due 2051. The new expiration time is 5:00 p.m. New York City time on June 15 2026, and the new settlement date is June 18 2026, unless the offer is extended or terminated earlier.
The extension is linked to the closing of the $55 billion merger between Oak‑Eagle and Electronic Arts, which was signed on September 28 2025. Under the terms of the merger, Oak‑Eagle will acquire all outstanding shares of EA for $210 per share, making EA a wholly‑owned subsidiary. The investor consortium backing Oak‑Eagle includes the Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners.
Electronic Arts’ 1.850% Senior Notes due 2031 and 2.950% Senior Notes due 2051 were issued in February 2021 with a combined principal amount of $1.5 billion ($750 million per series). The withdrawal deadline for the tender offers had already passed on February 24 2026, meaning notes tendered after that date cannot be withdrawn. By extending the offer, Oak‑Eagle aligns the tender‑offer settlement with the anticipated merger closing window of April 1 to June 30 2026, giving bondholders a clear timeline for the exchange of their notes for equity in the combined entity.
The extension also clarifies the treatment of covenant defeasance and change‑of‑control provisions that bondholders and rating agencies have debated. Fitch Ratings has indicated that, following the defeasance, the notes will be rated on the basis of U.S. Government obligations rather than EA’s corporate creditworthiness, a shift that could influence bond pricing and investor sentiment. For EA shareholders, the tender‑offer extension provides a definitive path to convert debt into equity, potentially enhancing shareholder value once the merger is consummated.
Overall, the tender‑offer extension is a key step in the execution of the Oak‑Eagle/Electronic Arts merger, ensuring that bondholders have a clear and timely mechanism to participate in the transaction while aligning the financial and regulatory timelines of the deal.
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