Saudi's SWF To Acquire Mobile Game Developer Scopely for $4.9 Billion

The firms announced on Wednesday that Savvy Games Group, completely owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), has agreed to buy Scopely, a creator of mobile games situated in Culver City, California, for $4.9 billion.

Scopely, which was launched in 2011, will become an autonomous business under the Savvy umbrella, according to a statement, adding that the transaction will "strengthen Savvy's worldwide presence" and allow Scopely to accelerate expansion.

Savvy said last year that it will invest 142 billion riyals ($37.85 billion) in programmes geared at creating the country a worldwide gaming centre.

Savvy invested $265 million in VSPO, a Chinese E-sports firm backed by Tencent Holdings Inc, in February.

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund is the Public Investment Fund. It is one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, with estimated assets of US$620 billion (£514 billion). It was established in 1971 with the intention of investing cash on behalf of the Saudi government. Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler since 2015, controls the wealth fund.