AppLovin withdraws $17.5 billion takeover offer for Unity

AppLovin has withdrawn its bid of more than $17.5 billion to acquire Unity. Earlier, the engine maker rejected the ‘unsolicited offer’ unanimously. It now looks like the deal between Unity and ironSource is finally going through.

Now that the offer has been rejected, AppLovin says opposite Gamesindusty.biz that on closer inspection the company would do better to remain independent. “AppLovin saw potential in merging the lucrative business models of machine learning and Unity’s Create platform. The opportunity was especially exciting due to the favorable market conditions within the industry. (…) After [de deal] After careful consideration, AppLovin must conclude that the path as an independent industry leader is better for our shareholders.”

The unsolicited takeover offer was in response to Unity’s plans to acquire an AppLovin competitor, ironSource. The latter two companies help developers of games and other apps monetize their product. unity wants to take over ironSource for about 4.4 billion euros, something AppLovin tried to avoid with its bid.