 "Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (File Photo/AFP)")
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is transferring about $12 billion worth of video game company shares to its subsidiary, Savvy Games Group, in a bid to consolidate its growing footprint in the global gaming industry. The transfer includes stakes in major players such as Nintendo and Bandai Namco, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.
Once completed, the subsidiary will hold about 10% stakes in major firms such as Koei Tecmo, NCSoft, Nexon, and Square Enix, according to company documents reviewed by Bloomberg News.
Savvy, set up in 2021 with ambition to help Saudi Arabia put money into things besides oil, has already made headlines by acquiring Scopely, the maker of Monopoly Go, and investing in Niantic, the creator of Pokemon Go. While Monopoly Go became a hit, Savvy’s esports bets have struggled, leading to layoffs.
The restructuring comes as PIF remains the largest investor in the maker of Battlefield and Madden NFL, Electronic Arts’ $55 billion buyout, though Savvy will not participate in that deal, the report said, adding that Savvy don’t plan to actively manage these investments.
Transfer long planned, no strategy changes ahead
Amar Batkhu who speaks for Savvy said they’ve been planning this transfer for a long time. “These transfers will move the stewardship of PIF’s games investments to Savvy, given Savvy is a leading games organization for the PIF and a core component of the National Gaming and Esports Strategy,” he said to Bloomberg News, adding that there aren’t any plans to change how they invest.