Saudi Arabia wants to buy ‘big game publisher’ for 13.6 billion euros
Investment fund Savvy Games Group wants to invest 38.6 billion euros in local and international gaming programs. One of the goals is to take over a large game publisher, for which the fund is willing to pay 13.6 billion euros. Savvy is owned by the Saudi state.
The acquisition of a game publisher is part of a new investment strategy, announced by CEO and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This strategy consists of four parts, of which ‘the acquisition and development of a major game publisher’ gets the second most money. The fund wants this game publisher to become a ‘strategic development partner’.
No possible takeover candidates are mentioned in the message. The converted amount of 13.6 billion euros does indicate that the fund may want to take over a large publisher. Take-Two’s acquisition of Zynga, for example, was an expensive $11.2 billion acquisition. Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda cost $6.4 billion. The most expensive ever is that of Activision Blizzard, which costs Microsoft $ 68.7 billion.
In recent years there have been rumors about Electronic Arts, among others, that this company wants to take over itself. In May, for example, it was reported that EA had unsuccessfully held talks with Apple, Disney, Amazon and NBCUniversal. At the time, the company had a market value of $36 billion. Ubisoft opened the door to an acquisition more clearly earlier this year. According to VGChartz, publishers as Embracer, Konami, Capcom, Square Enix and Ubisoft under the stated amount.
In addition to fully acquiring a major publisher, Savvy plans to purchase minority stakes in several “key companies” that support Savvy’s plans. The company also plans to invest in industry disruptors to support early development games as well as esports companies. The fourth pillar is investing in established companies that ‘add value and expertise to Savvy’s portfolio’.
With the plans, Savvy and Bin Salman aim to ensure that Saudi Arabia becomes “the ultimate global hub for games and e-sports” by 2030. The country wants to earn money, but also boost the national gaming industry. The country also wants to leave a ‘global footprint’.