Rare or Rareware, was once partly owned by Nintendo, holding a 49% stake in the company. The Stamper Brothers, the company founders, who owned 51% of the company back then, wanted to sell their remaining stock to Nintendo; however, the company declined as they did not see the need to increase their ownership. As a result, the Stamper Brothers decided to sell their remaining shares to Microsoft which in turn made Microsoft the largest shareholder with voting power - Nintendo sold their shares to Microsoft shortly after the transaction.
