Saudi Arabia has bought a $1 billion chunk of Capcom and Nexon
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has invested in Capcom and South Korean online games publisher Nexon to the tune of over $1 billion.
Bloomberg reports that the nation’s Public Investment Fund has been used to invest stakes of more than 5% in both Capcom and Nexon.
Although it’s not clear how much of the fund has been allocated to each investment, the report claims that the investments in Capcom and Nexon combined come to more than $1 billion.
This is the latest in a series of investments in video game and esports companies that Saudi Arabia has been making in recent years.
In December 2020 the fund acquired over $3 billion worth of stock in Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts and Take-Two.
It’s set to receive a profit on part of that investment if Microsoft‘s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is successfully completed, as the deal will see all shares bought out for $95, whereas thoughout December 2020 the price ranged from $79-91 per share.
The Public Investment Fund is reportedly central to crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s goal of making the Saudi economy less reliant on proceeds from oil.
PIF’s continued investments in video game companies may raise concerns given Saudi Arabia’s longstanding history of human rights abuses and the fact that the crown prince has been accused of ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
According to its website, PIF’s vision is to be “a global investment powerhouse and the world’s most impactful investor, enabling the creation of new sectors and opportunities that will shape the future global economy, while driving the economic transformation of Saudi Arabia”.
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