The crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman, has purchased a 33.3 percent stake in Japanese game company SNK through his charity ‘Misk.’ <\/p>\n
As explained in a press release<\/a> (via Google Translate), the deal cost Misk around 813 million riyals ($216.7 million) and roughly values SNK at around $650 million. <\/p>\n This won’t be the last investment the charity makes in the Metal Slug<\/em> and Samurai Showdown<\/em> developer, either, and Misk is now set to purchase another 17.7 percent of SNK’s shares to raise its ownership of the company to 51 percent — giving it a controlling stake. <\/p>\n The deal will likely come under scrutiny given Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record, with a recent report from Human Rights Watch<\/a> highlighting the current regime’s poor treatment of activists, women, and migrants (to name but some of the issues in the region). <\/p>\n Earlier this year, Misk itself was placed under review by Saudi Arabian leaders after being linked to a number of alleged scandals. As reported by the Financial Times<\/a>, the organization and some of its officials have been tied to assassination and espionage attempts — leading to questions about the integrity and purpose of the charity. <\/p>\n