Embracer Group CEO Releases Statement Following $1 Billion Investment by Saudi Arabia’s SGG

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Image: Embracer Group

Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors has issued an official statement following the company’s acceptance of a $1 billion investment by Savvy Gaming Group (SGG), a holding company owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with estimated assets in the range of $600 billion. Saudi Arabia is a country that continues to draw immense criticism for its human rights record, but Wingefors explained that Embracer ultimately decided to accept money from the non-democratic region for reasons that include meeting the interests of shareholders throughout all parts of the world, the belief that SGG has genuine ambitions in gaming, and that the investment will help grow the company. Embracer clarifies that it is “built on the principles of freedom, inclusion, humanity and openness” and that the recent transaction with SGG does not change this in any way. The holding company made waves last month when it announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Square Enix’s western studios, including Eidos and Crystal Dynamics.

Image: Embracer Group

Several journalists and investors have also commented on the premium price and asked why SGG didn’t buy shares on the open market. As we described in the press release on June 8, we have carefully considered alternative ways of raising capital and also concluded any deviation from a preferential capital raise could only be motivated by SGG investing at a premium to the current share price. I can’t comment on why SGG didn’t buy shares in the market, but for Embracer, it’s obviously much better as we are getting capital injected into the company.

Source: Embracer Group

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Tsing Mui
News poster at The FPS Review.

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