Why Serving Shareholders in the AI Era Requires Going Private First
EA went private for $55B to pursue AI transformation public investors don't understand. Apple-Disney speculation reveals uncomfortable truths about structural transformation vs staying public.
A fun question for 2026—if you are not the one trying to answer it—is how executives of private and public media companies will serve investors and shareholders while navigating AI disruption when those investors may not understand the disruption itself.
Gaming giant Electronic Arts (EA) provided one answer in October: Go private. EA agreed to be acquired by an investor consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners for $55 billion. The move enables EA to build long-term infrastructure for AI-driven growth and consumer innovation without quarterly earnings pressure.
EA’s decision to go private suggests public market investors either do not understand AI’s transformative potential—or, they do not believe media companies can deliver it while maintaining quarterly performance. This raises two uncomfortable questions: Can public media companies transform through AI, or does transformation require going private first? And, if going private is not an option then what?
