3 February 2022, 15:18 GMT+5:30
Updated on4 February 2022, 07:37 GMT+5:30
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund deepened its bet on video games, fresh from a face-saving deal that turned around its investment in Activision Blizzard Inc.
The Public Investment Fund disclosed stakes of more than 5% in two Japan-listed gaming firms: Cap com Co., the maker of the Street Fighter and Resident Evil franchises, and online games provider Nixon Co. Its combined holdings in the two firms are worth more than $1 billion.
The PIF, as the $500 billion fund is known, has been building up stakes in video game makers and e-sports over the past two years. Its purchase of about 37.9 million shares in Activision Blizzard Inc., which it began acquiring in late 2020, was losing money until Microsoft Corp. agreed to buy out the studio behind the Call of Duty series.
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Saudi Wealth Fund Boosts Gaming Bets With Cap com, Nixon Stakes
Saudi’s PIF takes stakes in Japan firms worth over $1 billion
Cap com, Nixon shares rise after the fund discloses stakes
The Nixon website.
The Nixon website. Source: Nixon
By Matthew Martin and Gearoid Reidy+Follow
3 February 2022, 15:18 GMT+5:30
Updated on4 February 2022, 07:37 GMT+5:30
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund deepened its bet on video games, fresh from a face-saving deal that turned around its investment in Activision Blizzard Inc.
The Public Investment Fund disclosed stakes of more than 5% in two Japan-listed gaming firms: Cap com Co., the maker of the Street Fighter and Resident Evil franchises, and online games provider Nixon Co. Its combined holdings in the two firms are worth more than $1 billion.
The PIF, as the $500 billion fund is known, has been building up stakes in video game makers and e-sports over the past two years. Its purchase of about 37.9 million shares in Activision Blizzard Inc., which it began acquiring in late 2020, was losing money until Microsoft Corp. agreed to buy out the studio behind the Call of Duty series.
Japan’s gaming companies have been the subject of speculation amid a broader wave of consolidation in the video game's industry, ever since Microsoft announced the $69 billion Activision purchase last month. Sony Group Corp. is also buying Bungee Inc., the U.S. video game developer behind the popular Destiny and Halo franchises, for $3.6 billion.
Read more: The Great Gaming Content War May Hit Japan Next
Shares in Osaka-based Cap com, which also counts Monster Hunter among its hit franchises, rose as much as 1.7% after the disclosure on Friday, even as the benchmark The pix index dropped 0.2%. PIF’s stake in Cap com is worth about $332 million based on Friday’s share price.
The PIF also took a 5.02% stake worth about $883 million in Nixon, the company behind role-playing games like Mapleton and Dungeon & Fighter. The Tokyo-listed firm, founded by South Korean billionaire Kim Jong-un and led by American Owen Mahoney, saw its shares rise more than 3% in Tokyo trading.
Nixon recently made a $400 million investment in AGB O, the independent film production company co-founded by “Avengers” directors Joe and Anthony Russo, while last year it bought $100 million of Bitcoin.
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