Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund buys Nintendo stake

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund acquired a 5% stake in Nintendo, worth about $2.98 billion, per FT.

Why it matters: The gaming industry has been consolidating this year with Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Sony buying Bungie.

Details: The Public Investment Fund bought 6.5 million shares, according to a filing with Japan's Ministry of Finance, FT reported.

• The fund has other investments in the gaming sector, including Nexon and Capcom. It also has stakes in Activision Blizzard, EA and Take-Two.
• Nintendo said earlier this month in its earnings report that it projected net profit to drop 29% and that it expects revenue to decrease 5.9% amid weaker sales. But recently the Switch has been selling well, leading last month in unit sales for game consoles in the U.S.

What they're saying: "PIF's purchase of shares in Nintendo, one of Japan's largest intellectual property holders, 'may be the start for Japanese gaming companies to be integrated into a global industry reshuffle,'" gaming analyst Satoshi Kurihara told FT.