According to Bloomberg, Saudi executives plan to create a unified structure for their expanding video game business.
The main goal is to establish a centralized management system for the numerous assets. However, as Bloomberg sources report, the merger is unlikely to occur before Savvy completes the acquisition of the Chinese company Moonton for $6 billion. Only then can the scale of accumulated assets be fully assessed.
It's worth noting that earlier this year, the Saudi Arabian Sovereign Wealth Fund (PIF) completed the acquisition of Electronic Arts through a leveraged buyout (LBO) for $55 billion. The organization now controls 93.4% of the American publisher, with the remaining shares held by Silver Lake and Affinity Partners.
Through its subsidiary holding, Savvy Games Group, it also owns companies like Scopely (acquired for $4.9 billion) and Niantic ($3.5 billion). Along with EA, PIF holds successful franchises, including EA Sports FC, Pokémon GO, Monopoly GO, The Sims, Apex Legends, and Battlefield. Soon, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang will join the list.
Separately, Savvy is developing its esports division through the ESL FACEIT Group. The potential merger would allow PIF to transition from accumulating assets to creating a unified global conglomerate for further video game expansion.
Interestingly, at the beginning of September, Brian Ward, who has nearly 30 years of experience in the industry, stepped down as CEO of Savvy. He was responsible for all key “mega-deals.” The interim CEO position was taken by Turqi Alnowaiser, who has been with PIF since 2015. He oversaw the buyout of EA on behalf of the Saudi fund.