The big picture: An investor consortium comprising American private equity firm Silver Lake Partners and Saudi Arabia's sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF) has reportedly approached Unity Software with an offer to acquire the company at a valuation of around $25 billion. Unity is believed to be seriously considering the offer, and has hired an investment bank to advise it.
According to unnamed insider sources cited by Reuters, the offer was made weeks before Unity released its Q3 earnings report, which revealed a 59% increase in strategic revenue year-over-year and 134% growth in adjusted EBITDA. The report pushed the company's stock price up by roughly 4% and its market capitalization to around $21.5 billion.
It's unclear whether the offer will be revised to reflect the new market valuation or whether the growth was already factored into the original proposal. Either way, Unity has yet to make a decision, with the report stating that no agreement had been reached as of November 6. None of the companies has confirmed or denied the report.
– Unity (@unity) November 5, 2026
It is worth noting that Silver Lake currently owns between 8% and 9% of Unity via multiple investments over the past decade. In 2017, the private equity firm participated in a $400 million funding round when Unity was valued at $2.6 billion. In 2019, Silver Lake was part of a secondary tender offer to purchase up to $525 million in shares from Unity's common shareholders at a $6 billion valuation.
Silver Lake also owns stakes in other video game companies beyond Unity. In August 2026, a consortium comprising Silver Lake, PIF, and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners completed a $55 billion leveraged buyout of gaming giant Electronic Arts, marking one of the more controversial M&A deals in the industry in recent years.
Following the acquisition, the new owners initiated several cost-cutting measures, including shutting down BioWare, the studio behind legendary RPGs like Mass Effect, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Jade Empire. The closure brought the curtain down on the next installment in the Mass Effect franchise, informally known as Mass Effect 5.