A recent billion-dollar investment by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has made the country the second largest owner of Embracer Group. The recent purchase saw almost 100 million shares of the company enter the ownership of “Savvy Gaming Group” which operates on behalf of Saudi Arabia.
Embracer Group is a giant in the video game industry and is the parent company for Coffee Stain Holding, Gearbox Entertainment, THQ Nordic, and more. The company also controls other multimedia companies such as Asmodee (board games and owner of Fantasy Flight Games) and Dark Horse Media (comics, manga, and television).
Saudi Arabia has been swiftly increasing its ownership of video game companies. Just last month, the Public Investment Fund acquired a 5.01% stake in Nintendo.
Thanks to Embracer Group’s aggressive acquisitions, it has become one of the largest game publishers in Europe. The company has also become the owner of widely recognized IPs such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, and Legacy of Kain when Square Enix sold their ownership of these franchises.
The billion-dollar deal gives Saudi Arabia an 8.1% stake in Embracer Group, which may not sound like much but it goes to show just how much the stock of Embracer Group is valued thanks to their performance in the market.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund represents roughly 500 billion USD in wealth, making this sudden acquisition of Embracer Group stock only a drop in the bucket and only a small part of what appears to be a push by the country to invest in video games.
