Just a few days ago, it was reported by various outlets that Saudi Arabia’s PIF (Public Investment Fund) was looking at increasing its shares in Nintendo. For some unknown reason, the PIF has reduced its shares in the company, now owning 7.54% of Nintendo instead of its previous 8.58%. This whole percentile point drop was noted in Japanese regulatory filings that were cited by CNBC this morning. (The Japanese stock market has closed for the day.)
For those unaware, in 2022 the PIF purchased a 5% share of Nintendo and gradually increased it over the last year and a half. When Japanese outlet Kyodo News reported on Sunday night that Savvy Games Group, a subsidiary of the PIF, was looking at increasing its holdings in Nintendo, people were shocked to hear that one of gaming’s biggest companies might be losing some of its freedom. Instead, the opposite has happened and there’s no clear answer.
The initial “report” cited a statement made by Savvy Games vice chairman Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan al-Saud, son of Bandar bin Sultan al-Saud, from September in which the prince claimed it was a possibility that he’d be interested in increasing his shares in other Japanese gaming companies. For those unaware, the PIF owns a majority stake in SNK to the tune of 96% of the company. While SNK claims the ownership doesn’t impact them in any fashion, there’s always the worry of a hostile takeover or even censorship at the hands of its owners.
Furthermore, the situation is very dire in the sense that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been making strides to launch an esports league in the country with the goal of taking over the gaming world. While that isn’t necessarily bad in and of itself, Mohammed bin Salman has been involved in some of the worst human rights violations of the past 20 years. Having his money fund any part of Nintendo sucks.
Whatever the case, there’s no clear reason why Saudi Arabia’s PIF has lowered its holdings in Nintendo, but we’ll take the win regardless.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
