Once again, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, or PIF, made an investment in a video game company. Followed by similar processes to obtain part of the shares of Take-Two, Activision Blizzard, Capcom, EA, and the majority of SNK, the organization run by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman now owns 5% of Nintendo.
In accordance with Bloomberg, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund paid nearly $3 billion to become the owner of 5.01% of Nintendo. This was a process completely dedicated to becoming investors, and it seems that at the moment there are no plans for this organization to acquire the Japanese company.
Similarly, this means that the PIF is now the fifth largest shareholder in Nintendo. Like past investments, this purchase is part of the Saudi Vision 2030 strategy, which was established during the rise to power of Mohammed bin Salman in the middle of the decade, where it is intended to diversify the economy centered on oil. However, this has also been heavily criticized as a way to hide some of the atrocities that have been associated with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
What does this mean for Nintendo? Actually, not much, apart from the great control they have over SNK, the small part held by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund it does not give them great power when making decisions. It is, as mentioned in the report, only a form of investment.
In related topics, Doug Bowser talks about the problems with workers at Nintendo of America. Similarly, Nintendo talks about the difficulty in producing more consoles.
Editor’s Note:
At the end of the day, it’s all about money, and investment from the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund is something that Nintendo will effectively use. However, companies should consider where the money is coming from, as the accusations against Mohammed bin Salman could affect the image of the Big N, at least a little.
Via: nintendo-everything