Shares in Japanese video game developer Nintendo jumped on Monday after Saudi Arabia, one of its largest outside investors, expressed an interest in taking a larger stake in the company.
The Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, is open to expanding its ownership of Nintendo and other Japanese video game developers, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al-Saud, vice chair of the Savvy Games Group, a PIF-owned gaming company, told Japanese news agency Kyodo News before the weekend.
The PIF owns an 8.58% stake in Nintendo, according to a corporate governance report filed in June. The sovereign wealth fund also owns stakes in fellow Japanese developers Koei Tecmo and Capcom, Korean developer Nexon, and U.S.-based developers Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive. A subsidiary of the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation, the Saudi Arabian crown prince’s non-profit foundation, also owns almost all of Japanese game developer SNK.
Nintendo shares jumped 4% on Monday, the first trading day since the publication of Kyodo’s interview. Koei Tecmo rose 3.6%, while Capcom rose 2%.
The PIF is in the process of transferring its stakes in Japanese gaming companies to Savvy Games Group to “create greater synergies,” Faisal bin Bandar told Kyodo. He sees an opportunity to work with Japanese companies to promote localizing their video games for other markets.
The Public Investment Fund is Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, managing over $700 billion in assets. It’s a key driver of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, a plan to diversify the country’s economy away from oil.
Video games are a key part of the PIF’s strategy. The fund has poured close to $40 billion into the Savvy Games Group, an esports company tasked with acquiring, developing, and publishing top-tier games. Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, serves as Savvy Games’s chair.
The PIF is also investing in new initiatives like airline Riyadh Air and international golf series LIV Golf, and Qiddiya, an entertainment-focused city southwest of Riyadh. Authorities plan to build a Formula One track, a stadium and a theme park dedicated to Japanese manga series Dragon Ball in Qiddiya.
Nintendo is currently trying to leverage its intellectual property in other forms of media. 2023’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” broke multiple box office records and grossed $1.36 billion. The company is now working on both a Mario sequel and a new film based on the Legend of Zelda gaming series.
Nintendo reported a 46.5% year-on-year drop in revenue and a 55% drop in profit for the quarter ending June 2024, as consumers slow down their video game purchases. The company has promised to announce a new version of its Switch console, now almost eight years old, by April 2025.
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