Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund has bought stakes worth over $1.2 billion in Nexon and Capcom. The Public Investment Fund has continued its trend of acquiring major stakes in the gaming industry with this investment.
According to a recent post from Bloomberg, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) has disclosed stakes of more than 5% in 2 Japan-listed gaming firms: Capcom, the maker of the Street Fighter and Resident Evil franchises, and online games provider Nexon. Its combined holdings after this stake acquisition in the 2 firms are worth more than US$1 billion.
For the last two years, the PIF has been building up stakes in video game makers and esports. Its purchase of shares worth $37.9 million in Activision Blizzard, which it began acquiring in late 2020, was running on losses until Microsoft agreed to buy out Activision, the studio behind the Call of Duty series.
What does this investment by Public Investment Fund in Nexon and Capcom mean for the gaming industry
There’s been a lot of speculation in the Japanese gaming industry since Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision last month. The Call of Duty publisher was purchased by Microsoft for $69 billion. This acquisition has made Microsoft the third largest video game company after Tencent and Sony.
Furthermore, with this investment by Public Investment Fund in Nexon and Capcom, the gaming industry of Japan has got an economic boost as shares in Osaka-based Capcom, which also counts Monster Hunter among its hit franchises, rose as much as 1.7% after the disclosure on Friday, February 4th, 2022, even as the benchmark Topix index dropped 0.2%. Also, PIF’s stake in Capcom as it shows is worth about US$332 million based on Friday’s share price.
Speaking of other investments by PIF, a few days back ESL and FACEIT were acquired by the Savvy Gaming Group in a deal worth $1.5 billion. Two of the largest esports organizers were merged together under the banner of Savvy which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
With this investment, the gaming industry is getting bigger and bigger with each passing day and gaming is becoming a dominant form of entertainment. To follow other regions, the middle eastern countries are making sure that they do not fall behind in gaining the most from it.
What are your thoughts as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund acquires stakes in Nexon and Capcom? Let us know in the comments below!
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