Following the high-profile acquisition of Electronic Arts for $55 billion earlier this year, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and private equity firm Silver Lake are preparing for another major deal. According to Reuters news agency, their next target is the developer of the popular game engine Unity.
Potential $25 Billion Deal
According to sources, the consortium is in talks to acquire Unity at a valuation of approximately $25 billion. Silver Lake already has close ties with the company: firm representative Egon Durban sits on Unity's board of directors, and the firm itself already owns about 8% of the shares following an investment of $400 million.
Unity's Current Position
Unity's recent financial reports demonstrate positive momentum—the company posted a 59% year-over-year increase in strategic revenue and recorded a net profit of $122 million, largely driven by its AI-powered advertising platform Vector. This marked the company's first quarterly GAAP profit since going public in 2020.
However, recent years have been turbulent for the engine due to several factors:
- The scandal surrounding the so-called "runtime fee" in 2024, when an attempt to charge developers for each game install triggered a wave of criticism and boycotts.
- Attempts to integrate artificial intelligence into game development platforms in collaboration with Google.
- Fluctuations in the market valuation of tech companies due to instability in the generative AI sector.
Currently, the details of the potential deal and its final structure have not been disclosed, so it remains to wait for official statements from the parties.
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