Saudi Arabia has upped its stake in main U.S. recreation publishers EA and Take-Two Interactive.
As spotted by Axios, the Saudi Public Funding Fund (PIF), a state-backed group chaired by deputy prime minister and crown prince Mohammed bin Salman Al-Saud, has elevated its stake in EA to five.8 % from 5.1 %. That is in accordance with an SEC filing submitted in December 2022.
Another SEC filing submitted on the similar time exhibits the PIF additionally elevated its stake in Grand Theft Auto maker Take-Two to six.8 % from 5.3 %.
This is not the primary time PIF and the Saudi state has signaled its intent to take a position closely within the online game business. Earlier this week, PIF purchased extra shares in Nintendo to extend its stake within the Swap maker to 7.08 %.
Final yr, the sovereign wealth fund additionally acquired stakes in Capcom and Nexon, and bought a $1 billion stake in Embracer Group by way of its Savvy Gaming Group subsidiary.
These offers have been scrutinized as a result of Mohammed bin Salman Al-Saud’s involvement with PIF. The Saudi crown prince has beforehand been accused of permitting human rights activists to be tortured, and has additionally confronted allegations over potential hyperlinks to the homicide of Washington Submit journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
