Overview
- Multiple outlets report that Silver Lake Partners and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund have held confidential talks with Unity in recent weeks about a full buyout.
- The consortium discussed a valuation near $25 billion that was set before Unity’s strong third-quarter results lifted its market value to about $21.5 billion.
- Unity has engaged an investment bank to weigh options after the approach and no agreement has been reached, with terms still subject to change.
- Silver Lake already owns roughly 8 percent of Unity and has a board director, raising recusal and conflict-of-interest questions for any sale process.
- Developers and industry observers warn a leveraged buyout could saddle Unity with debt like the recent EA deal did and note Unity’s 2023 Runtime Fee controversy as a source of continuing mistrust.