Subsidiary to Saudi PIF buys a $1bn chunk of Embracer gaming group

Savvy Gaming Group, a subsidiary of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), purchased 100 million shares worth $1 billion from Embracer, a Swedish electronic gaming company. 

According to “Bloomberg,” the deal was completed through the issuance of additional shares, making Savyy the second largest shareholder of Embracer after founder and CEO Lars Wingefors.

The new investment gives Savvy 8.1 percent of the shares and 5.4 percent of the votes on the board of directors, according to an Embracer statement.

Saudi’s PIF launched Savvy Gaming earlier this year with the goal of developing electronic and video games both domestically and internationally.

According to the American website Axios, Embracer was the most active buyer of video game companies in 2021, acquiring 22 studios in addition to Gearbox Entertainment Company, the creator of the famous video game series Borderlands. 

Embracer recently purchased the Tomb Raider video game franchise rights.

Saudi companies have become one of the most important investors in the global games industry, according to an Embracer statement.

The gaming market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has become one of the world’s fastest growing, with revenues reaching $5.7 billion in 2021, Embracer says.

Over the past few years, Saudi made large investments in the electronic video games industry. Last January, the PIF announced the launch of Savvy as part of a strategy that aims to promote innovation in the entertainment and sports industries.

Moreover,  the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund revealed in May that it had purchased more than 5 percent of Nintendo shares, making it its third investment in a Japanese game firm.

Last April, the Mohammed bin Salman MiSK Foundation took over nearly all of the Japanese electronic video games developer SNK. 

After acquiring a smaller stake in the Japanese company, the Saudi game consoles development company Edge, which is affiliated with the Misk Foundation, bought 96.18 percent of the giant developer’s shares.

Furthermore, Bloomberg reported in February that the PIF had purchased more than 5 percent of the South Korean video game company Nixon, as well as a similar stake in the Japanese video game console Capcom.