Antitrust Regulators Greenlight BioWare/Pandemic Acquisition

Antitrust regulators have cleared Electronic Arts' $775 million purchase of BioWare and Pandemic Studios parent VG Holding Corp from Elevation Partners, a private equity fund which includes Bono among its investors. The Associated Press is reporting that the Federal Trade Commission included the deal on a list of transactions that received an "early termination" of their antitrust reviews, meaning that the review was completed prior to the end of a 30-day period mandated by antitrust laws. Elevation Partners was founded by now Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello in 2004 after leaving his post as EA president. The company first acquired majority stakes in the developers in November of 2005, when it paid a total of $300 million. As previously reported, EA will pay VG Holding stockholders $620 million in cash and issue as much as $155 million in equity to some of the company's employees. The deal is expected to close in January.