Saudi PIF transfers 12 billion USD of gaming industry shares to Savvy - Game News

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (Saudi PIF) just made a strategic move by transferring its video game industry stock portfolio, worth $12.1 billion, to its subsidiary Savvy Games Group.

This move aims to centralize investments in games under a single specialized management unit.

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+ Details About the Huge Transfer

This deal includes stakes in the world’s largest corporations, marking a change in ownership structure:

Investment portfolio: Includes stakes in Nintendo, Electronic Arts (EA) and Take-Two Interactive.
Specific value: According to legal records, the total value of the transferred shares is estimated at 12.1 billion USD (equivalent to about 45.3 billion SAR).
Ownership structure: After this process, Savvy Games Group will directly manage these investments instead Saudi PIF indirect management as before.

+ Strategic Goals of Savvy Games Group

Taking on this huge amount of shares is part of the kingdom’s long-term plan to turn Saudi Arabia into a global gaming center:

Concentrate resources: Savvy currently has an operating budget of up to 38 billion USD to carry out acquisitions and development deals.
Building an ecosystem: By holding direct shares in gaming giants, Savvy strengthens its position and ability to influence global game development strategies.
Vision 2030: This is part of Saudi Arabia’s strategy to diversify the economy and reduce dependence on oil.

Photo: SAVVY.

+ Background and Previous Deals

Savvy Games Group is no longer a strange name with famous deals in recent years:

July 2023: Completed the acquisition of mobile game developer Scopely for $4.9 billion.
June 2022: Saudi PIF (through Savvy Games Group) spent $1 billion to acquire about 8.1% of Embracer Group’s shares, becoming the group’s second largest shareholder at that time. However, the “2 billion USD deal” incident (May 2023) between Savvy and Embracer broke down at the last minute. The failure of this deal directly led to Embracer having to close a series of studios (such as Volition) and cancel many large game projects to restructure.
January 2022: Spending 1.5 billion USD to acquire two leading esports organizations, ESL and Faceit, then merged into ESL Faceit Group.
Field of activity: Savvy currently operates in many areas including game publishing, esports and strategic investments.

Besides the transfer of existing shares, the financial reports also clarify the investment roadmap of the company Saudi PIF for giant Electronic Arts:

Timeline: As of the most recent quarter, Saudi PIF has continuously strengthened its position at EA.
Ownership ratio: The fund increased its holdings in Electronic Arts to about 9%, becoming one of the largest shareholders of this group.
Investment value: The investment in EA is one of the most important components in the $12.1 billion stock package that has just been transferred to Savvy Games Group for direct management.

+ Implications for the Global Market

This transfer affirms our ambitions Savvy Games Group not only stopping at financial investment but also wanting to become a leading game publisher and operator in the world.

With a portfolio of shares in AAA companies like Nintendo or EA, Savvy is currently one of the most powerful entities in this smokeless industry.