MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Unity Technologies, the creator of one of the industry’s biggest development platforms, Unity, has confirmed it has secured additional investment from D1 Capital Partners, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Light Street Capital, Sequoia Capital, and Silver Lake Partners. Additionally, the firm is announcing a tender offer for common shareholders of up to $525 million.
Based on the results of the tender offer, the company states this will take recent investment in Unity up to a total of $675 million, doubling the company’s worth to an estimated $6 billion. As the tender offer is open to all common shareholders – the majority of which are current and former employers of the firm – this “marks a significant milestone” and the “opportunity for some liquidity to [Unity’s] dedicated employees who have worked so hard to make Unity the company that it is today”.
“At Unity, we think the world is a better place with more creators in it. Unity is used to create more than half of the world’s games, and apps made with Unity are downloaded over 3 billion times per month,” said John Riccitiello, chief executive officer at Unity Technologies. “We strive to serve our customers with the best real-time 3D technology imaginable, and very much appreciate that investors are paying attention.”
“We welcome D1 Capital Partners, Light Street Capital, and CPPIB to our roster of world-class investors, which includes Sequoia Capital and Silver Lake Partners,” added CFO Kim Jabal. “We selected these investors because their vision of the future is very much aligned with ours. We are pleased to provide the opportunity for some liquidity to our dedicated employees who have worked so hard to make Unity the company that it is today.”
“Unity is building on its premier position and showcasing its new technologies in the games market, which helps drive adoption and innovation across other markets. And it’s doing so with great success,” said Dan Sundheim, founder of D1 Capital Partners LP.
Unity sought $125 million in additional Series E funding back in May 2019. Stock authorisation filings that were confirmed by a Unity spokesperson to be accurate indicated the tech firm was seeking additional Series E funding, boosting the company’s value up to an estimated $5.96 billion at the time.
The latest iteration of the game engine software, Unity 2019.1, is now available. This latest version includes a host of “notable changes for all developers”, particularly for those working on mobile platforms. In June, the company announced Unity Reflect, the “first of its kind real-time building information modelling (BIM) tool for architecture, engineering and construction professionals”.
