Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund Buys Nexon Shares Again... Expands Stake to 7% Range

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF (Public Investment Fund), known as 'oil money,' has increased its stake in Nexon to the 7% range by purchasing additional shares.

According to Japan's electronic disclosure system (EDINET) on the 8th, Saudi Arabia acquired an additional 1.07% stake in Nexon from the 15th of last month to the 1st of this month. The acquisition amount was 23,491,610,000 yen (approximately 250.9 billion KRW). As a result, since the initial investment of over 1 trillion KRW on January 25, PIF's cumulative investment in Nexon has totaled 197,044,620,000 yen (approximately 2.1068 trillion KRW).

PIF's stake in Nexon also expanded from 6.03% to 7.09%. The gap with the third-largest shareholder, Japan Master Trust Bank (8.1%), has narrowed to just 1 percentage point.

Led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, PIF is known to manage a fund worth 5 trillion USD (approximately 600 trillion KRW). PIF has not disclosed the exact reasons for its investment in Nexon beyond stating it is a simple investment purpose. However, the industry believes that Crown Prince Mohammed's strong interest in the gaming industry was a decisive factor behind the investment.

In fact, since 2020, PIF has secured stakes in global renowned gaming companies including the acquisition of the Japanese game company SNK, as well as shares in Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts (EA). Microsoft recently acquired Activision Blizzard at a high price, allowing PIF to recover its investment. Last month, PIF also acquired the global esports company ESL Gaming for 1 trillion KRW. Shortly after purchasing Nexon shares, PIF also made an investment of around 800 billion KRW in NCSoft.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.