Silver Lake and PIF reportedly propose Unity takeover at around US$25 billion
Unity has reportedly hired an investment bank to advise on the proposal, but no agreement had been reached as of November 6.
Silver Lake Partners and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund have proposed acquiring Unity Software at a valuation of around US$25 billion, according to unnamed sources cited by Reuters. Unity is reportedly giving the proposal serious consideration and has appointed an investment bank as an adviser.
The approach preceded Unity’s Q3 results by several weeks. Those results showed strategic revenue rising 59% year-over-year, while adjusted EBITDA increased 134%. Following the earnings report, Unity shares gained roughly 4%, bringing its market capitalization to around US$21.5 billion.
Whether the bidders would change their proposal following that increase, or had already accounted for the growth, remained unclear. No deal had been agreed as of November 6, and none of the companies had confirmed or denied the reported approach.
Silver Lake already holds between 8% and 9% of Unity following several investments over the past decade. It participated in a US$400 million funding round in 2017, when Unity’s valuation was US$2.6 billion.
