Controversial Saudi Crown Prince Almost Entirely Owns SNK
The prince's foundation has acquired 96.18 percent of SNK’s shares.
A subsidiary of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman's foundation now almost completely owns SNK Corporation, a Japanese video game hardware and software company.
According to The Verge, a February 15th filing on SNK’s website shows that Electronic Gaming Development Company (EGDC), which is owned by the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (MiSK Foundation), now holds 96.18 per cent of the company's shares.
SNK is most notable for creating the Neo-Geo arcade system, and several franchises of games including The King of Fighters, Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown and Fatal Fury. SNK also helped publish many games including Rage of the Dragons, World Heroes, Ninja Master's and Sengoku along with Double Dragon for the hardware Neo Geo. Neo Geo.
“The Mohammed bin Salman Foundation’s (MiSK Foundation) investment in the Japanese company SNK reinforces its continuous commitment to its goals of empowering Saudi men and women through building economic partnerships, within the Foundation’s updated strategy to maximize the positive impact on youth empowerment,” MiSK Foundation said in a press release following the acquisition.
“The investment decision will also enhance SNK’s strong capabilities, which has many innovative intellectual properties in the gaming sector with real potential for development in the future in line with anticipated growth with the electronic gaming industry.”
It's a move that's already causing controversy, given that the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has previously been directly implicated in the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, accused of sending an assassination hit squad into Canada, and is the de facto leader of a country repeatedly lambasted for multiple human rights abuses.
The prince's MiSK Foundation in 2020 purchased 33.3 per cent of SNK, with plans to buy a total of 51 per cent of shares, and take majority ownership. The 33.3 per cent of SNK shares were bought for approximately US$216 million, valuing the full company at around £648 million. However, it appears that the foundation decided to buy a much larger stake.
It was previously reported that Saudi Arabia has made substantial investments in the video game industry. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), for example, acquired a 5 percent stake in both Capcom and Nexon valued at more than US$1 billion. The PIF also bought stock in Activision Blizzard, EA, and Take-Two in 2020 with a total investment of US$3.3 billion.
