For years, tech-focused buyout group Silver Lake coveted video game developer Electronic Arts, the power behind the popular "Battlefield" and "Madden NFL" series.

In a brainstorming session this spring, Silver Lake investors and U.S. President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner started hammering out plans for what became the world's largest leveraged buyout, three sources familiar with the talks said. One of the people said the talks started between Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban and Kushner.

Backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), the $55 billion deal announced on Monday will enlarge Silver Lake's games, sports and entertainment portfolio while giving the sovereign wealth fund an asset it may want to hold on to for a long time, the sources said. EA was first approached in the summer, the people said.

PIF will end up as EA's majority shareholder while Kushner's private equity fund Affinity Partners will own 5%, one of the people said.

Given that PIF already owned almost 10% of EA before the deal, according to LSEG data, and had gaming investments, it made sense for Silver Lake to look at the fund as a natural partner, the person added, noting that Kushner played an important role in brokering it.