Days after AppLovin offered to snap up Unity for $17.5 billion, the company rejected the proposal. Instead, the board of directors will remain committed to its merger with marketing platform ironSource.
Unity made an announcement on August 15. The company’s board unanimously decided that AppLovin’s offer is “not in the best interests of Unity shareholders.”
They urged stakeholders to vote against this proposal and support the ironSource deal instead.
Unity CEO John Riccitiello said the board of directors remains committed to the ironSource deal. He noted that this merger 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.”
The company’s board has authorized a 24-month share buyback program of up to $2.5 billion. It will be effective upon closing of the merger with ironSource.
AppLovin made an offer to acquire Unity last week. The deal required approval by each company’s board of directors and termination of the ironSource deal. The latter was announced last month, with Unity valuing ironSource at $4.4 billion.