Who needs IPO investors when you can get even more money from one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, whose chairman also happens to be an avid gamer?
That seems to be the sentiment at Chinese e-sports giant VSPO, which late last week announced it will sell a major stake of the company to Saudi Arabia for $265 million. The actual investor is Savvy Games Group, which is the 100%-owned gaming arm of Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
This investment has quite a few interesting angles, including foreshadowing a possible IPO bid by VSPO later this year. It also reflects a recent trend of Middle Eastern investment heading to China, and of Saudi Arabia’s own particular interest in becoming a global gaming hub. Last but not least, it represents a sort of “coming of age” for e-sports, which consists of massive online tournaments for popular games, and looks poised to become a major new branch of the global gaming industry.