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Electronic Gaming Development Company (EGDC), an investment company wholly owned by Saudi Arabian organization MiSK Foundation (Mohammed bin Salman Foundation), submitted another Large Shareholding Report to the Kanto Local Finance Bureau on April 6. The report stated that EGDC’s stake in the game company CAPCOM has increased from 5.03% to 6.04% or from 26,788,500 shares to 32,186,900 shares. Basing on CAPCOM’s investor report as of December 31, EGDC would now be its fourth largest shareholder.
The 5% rule or Large Shareholding Report system requires shareholders who hold more than 5% of a listed company’s shares to report the purpose and quantity of their holdings to the local finance bureau. EGDC’s latest report has maintained that the purpose of investment is “pure investment.”
EGDC previously submitted a Large Shareholding Report on March 13, after it has acquired 5.03% of CAPCOM’s total outstanding shares.
EGDC owns a 96.18% stake in game developer company SNK after purchasing more shares in 2022. The company initially invested US$216.5 million in SNK in November 2020. It acquired a 33.3% stake in the company at the time, with a plan to purchase an additional 17.7% stake in the future to raise its ownership to 51%.
Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, is the MiSK Foundation’s founder and chairman. The organization and the Saudi Arabian animation studio Manga Productions (also owned by MiSK Foundation) have hosted an internship program with SNK in the past. Manga Productions has also collaborated with Toei Animation on a number of anime projects, including “The Woodcutter’s Treasure” short, Future’s Folktales, and The Journey.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman established MiSK in 2011. In February 2021, the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence assessed that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi was a Saudi journalist who relocated to the United States and wrote for The Washington Post newspaper before being killed in 2018. The Saudi Arabian government “completely reject[ed]” the U.S. assessment.
CAPCOM is known for its franchises such as Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, Ace Attorney, and Mega Man, among others. CAPCOM recently launched the Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection game for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam on March 13.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), chaired by the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had acquired a stake of more than 5% in CAPCOM in February 2022.
Sources: Reuters Japan, gamebiz via Hachima Kikō
