Shares of American video game company Electronic Arts surged 15% on Friday as the gaming giant approaches a privatization deal valued at approximately $50 billion. Investors including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Silver Lake Capital could announce the transaction as early as next week.

The deal would represent the largest leveraged buyout in Wall Street history, surpassing the 2007 privatization of TXU Energy for approximately $45 billion. A leveraged buyout (LBO) involves using debt primarily to finance the acquisition, a strategy traditionally employed by private equity firms or activist investors.

Electronic Arts develops popular video games including The Sims, Madden NFL, and the soccer franchise FC (formerly FIFA). Including Friday's gains, the stock has climbed 32% year-to-date.