Unity, the company behind the game engine of the same name, and ironSource, a software company that specialises in monetising applications, have announced a merger deal.
Under the deal, ironSource will be merging into a “wholly-owned subsidiary of Unity via an all-stock deal.” An all-stock deal is a process whereby shares in ironSource are exchanged for shares in Unity. In this case, each ordinary share of ironSource will become 0.1089 of Unity common stock. Once the merger is finalised, Unity stockholders will hold the majority of stock, 73.5%, and ironSource stockholders will hold the remaining 26.5% (via BusinessWire).
Unity CEO John Riccitiello gave some context on the merger: “We believe the world is a better place with more successful creators in it. The combination of Unity and ironSource better supports creators of all sizes by giving them all the tools they need to create and grow successful apps in gaming and other consumer-facing verticals like e-commerce.”
According to the press release, Unity plans to work together with ironSource in changing game creation into a “deeply connected and interactive” growth process.
The press release contains a lot of jargon and vague promises but essentially a company whose biggest product is its game engine technology and a company that specialises in monetising applications are a natural combination.
Just two weeks ago, Unity laid off 4% of its workforce due to “resource realignment” following reported promises from Riccitiello that this would not be the case (via Kotaku). Unity’s stock price has fallen over 65% in the last year alone.
ironSource was also not performing exceptionally before the merger, with their stock price similarly having dropped 66% in the last year.
Only time will tell if this merger can turn around the fortunes of the two companies.
