Unexpected news to say the least

It has been reported by the New York Post that Electronic Arts is exploring the possibility of a sale as the company struggles to grow its business amid competition from free online gaming sites.

The paper reported EA has been approached by private-equity giants KKR and Providence Equity Partners about striking a potential deal. Representatives for EA haven’t been immediately available for comment.

EA, the company behind such popular video games series as “FIFA” and “Madden NFL” had a market value of $4.17 billion as of Wednesday’s close. The paper quotes a source familiar with the company saying EA would do a deal at $20 a share.

EA has reported disappointing results in recent periods as a slump in sales of console videogames has hurt margins. This isn’t helped by the increased competition it faces from free-access online games.

The company is looking to transform its business model to better compete against rivals such as Zynga.