The $4.4B merger between Unity and ironSource is now complete

The formal merger between Unity and ironSource has been completed. The two businesses will now work together to produce an end-to-end platform for developers to build and monetize games.

Back in July, ironSource, an ad-tech company providing developers with tools for integrating ads, cross-channel marketing, and more, and Unity, a company best known for its self-titled general-purpose game engine, first announced their intention to join forces in a $4.4 billion all-stock transaction.

The two publicly traded companies’ stocks had dropped by about 75% and 50%, respectively, from 2022 until July. The economic downturn played a role in the decision to merge, but so did Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework, which was introduced last year, according to at least one analyst. Due to the friction caused by ATT on that front, both Unity and ironSource rely on developers purchasing advertising to attract new users. Combining their resources helps overcome their individual declines.

According to ironSource CEO Tomer Bar-Zeev, the goal of this game-changing combination is to increase value for developers across the whole development process. “We are very excited about the road ahead as we begin integrating our product portfolios more deeply and strengthening the feedback loop between creating great games and growing them into successful businesses. In doing so, we’ll be able to create a world where more creators are more successful than ever before.”

It’s important to note that in the weeks after Unity and ironSource originally disclosed their plans to merge, AppLovin significantly impacted the discussion when it put out a $20 billion offer for Unity in exchange for ending its ambitions to merge with AppLovin’s rival, ironSource. After giving it some thought, Unity’s board decided to reject that offer, stating that AppLovin’s offer wasn’t a “superior proposal.”