Unity rejects AppLovin's "unsolicited" $17.5 billion buyout offer

A few days ago, Unity received a buyout offer in the form of a $17.5 billion all-stock transaction from AppLovin, provided that the former agrees to ditch its plans to acquire AppLovin's smaller competitor ironSource. Unity had already announced plans to purchase ironSource for $4.4 billion, so the move was made to drive a wedge in that transaction.

Under the terms of the deal, Unity's CEO would become an owner of the combined firm, with AppLovin's current CEO serving as the new company's COO. In the same vein, Unity would own 49% voting rights in the combined organization. However, Unity has now rejected this offer.

Unity's board of directors has confirmed that it has rejected AppLovin's “unsolicited” buyout offer, and will be continuing with its acquisition of ironSource. The board has also urged other shareholders to reject AppLovin's offer because it is not in the best interests of Unity. Unity's President and Chief Executive Officer of Unity John Riccitiello noted that:

The Board continues to believe that the ironSource transaction is compelling and will deliver an opportunity to generate long-term value through the creation of a unique end-to-end platform that allows creators to develop, publish, run, monetize, and grow live games and real-time 3D content seamlessly. We remain committed to and enthusiastic about Unity’s agreement with ironSource and the substantial benefits it will create for our shareholders and Unity creators.

AppLovin did turn quite a few heads last week when it offered to buy Unity for $17.5 billion out of the blue. The gaming software company specializes in mobile app monetization and has been in the space since 2012.