After taking over EA, Saudi Arabia and their private equity cronies have reportedly held talks about buying Unity

Following the $55 billion acquisition of Electronic Arts by a consortium led by the Saudi Arabian government's Public Investment Fund and private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, the group has reportedly been discussing a potential takeover of Unity, a software company behind the Unity game engine. Reuters claims that the consortium, which includes Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has approached Unity about a deal that would value the company at around $25 billion.

Unity is currently consulting with an investment bank to explore their options, but no deal has been finalized yet. Notably, Silver Lake Partners, which invested up to $400 million in Unity in 2017, already holds a significant stake in the company and has a board representative in Egon Durban, making any takeover discussions more complicated.

If the consortium proceeds with a leveraged buyout, similar to the EA acquisition, Unity may face job losses and potential cancellations of major projects, as seen with EA's BioWare division after laying off 400 employees. Despite strong recent financial results driven by AI-powered ad network Vector, Unity's workforce would be advised to brace themselves for the potential disruption caused by this likely takeover.