| Saudi Crown Prince to become largest SNK shareholder
Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman is set to become the leading shareholder in publicly-listed South Korean software and hardware developer SNK Corporation through the Electronic Gaming Development Company (EGDC) firm held by the Mohamed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud (MiSK Foundation), according to a report published in South Korean publication Bloter. The report claims that EGDC has signed a stock transfer agreement with the studio which will see it acquire 33% of SNK’s outstanding share capital through mixture of treasury shares and a block owned by the current leading shareholder on 12th January 2021, for a sum in excess of ₩207bn (£139.9m). The suggested share purchase follows the signing of a corporate agreement between SNK and Saudi firm Manga Productions at the MiSK Global Forum event in 2017. While the move may be seen as a boost to the Middle Eastern video games industry, which has been growing at CAGR of 25% year-over-year according to recently-launched studio Sandsoft Games, the direct involvement of the Saudi crown prince is controversial given the country’s human rights record and allegations directly implicating the Crown Prince in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. The Gaming Economy has reached out to SNK for a comment. The Gaming Economy |
