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.’
As explained in a press release (via Google Translate), the deal cost Misk around 813 million riyals ($216.7 million) and roughly values SNK at around $650 million.
This won’t be the last investment the charity makes in the Metal Slug and Samurai Showdown 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.
The deal will likely come under scrutiny given Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record, with a recent report from Human Rights Watch highlighting the current regime’s poor treatment of activists, women, and migrants (to name but some of the issues in the region).
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, 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.
SNK, which rebranded in 2016 after being acquired by Chinese investors, has yet to comment on the deal publicly.
https://www.sickgaming.net/blog/2020/11/...ke-in-snk/