Banks launch sale of EA buyout's $5.75 billion cross-border loan

<p>By Matt Tracy</p>
<p>WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - A JPMorgan-led group of banks on Monday began marketing to ‌investors a $5.75 billion loan helping finance the leveraged ‌buyout of Electronic Arts (<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/EA">EA</a>), according to a term sheet seen by ​Reuters.</p>
<p>The seven-year term loan B consists of a $4 billion U.S. dollar portion as well as a 1.531 billion euro ($1.75 billion-equivalent) portion, according to the term sheet, which will ‌help finance game ⁠publisher EA's $55 billion take-private deal by a consortium of investors including Saudi Arabia's Public ⁠Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners.</p>
<p>There is also a $3.25 billion term loan A and $9 billion in other dollar ​and euro-denominated ​secured and unsecured debt, ​according to the term ‌sheet.</p>
<p>The take-private deal is expected to close in June, according to the firms' September announcement.</p>
<p>The banks are marketing the $4 billion portion and the 1.531 billion euro portion of the term loan B at a discounted 98.5 ‌cents on the dollar and ​a floating interest rate of 350 ​basis points (bps) to ​375 bps over the Secured Overnight Financing ‌Rate (SOFR) and the Euro Interbank ​Offered Rate (Euribor), ​respectively, according to the term sheet.</p>
<p>The loan sale's deadline is currently set for market close on March ​23, according to ‌the term sheet.</p>
<p>EA did not immediately respond to ​a request for comment.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Matt Tracy ​in Washington;Editing by Keith Weir)</p>