Silver Lake and Saudi Arabia PIF explore acquisition of Unity

Private equity firm Silver Lake Partners and Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, have held preliminary talks to acquire engine developer Unity Software, Game Developer, VGC, PocketGamer.biz, Eurogamer and MassivelyOP reported on November 6, 2026, citing Reuters. The potential buyout could value the game engine and advertising company at around $25 billion, according to reports from VGC, PocketGamer.biz and Eurogamer. Game Developer noted that the investor consortium reached out to Unity in recent weeks to explore the acquisition. [1][2][3][4][5]

Silver Lake already owns roughly 8% of Unity, VGC and PocketGamer.biz reported. Eurogamer added that Silver Lake's Egon Durban holds a seat on the Unity board of directors. Game Developer noted that Silver Lake is owned by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of United States President Donald Trump, while VGC described the firm as a Silicon Valley-based private equity group. [1][2][3][4]

The Public Investment Fund was created in 1971 to invest funds for the Saudi Arabian government and holds estimated total assets of $900 billion. The wealth fund is chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler since 2015. Game Developer reported that the fund has been steadily investing in international video game and technology companies. [1][11]

The prospective buyout follows a massive transaction earlier this year. Eurogamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, MassivelyOP and GamesRadar reported that Silver Lake and the Public Investment Fund previously acquired publisher Electronic Arts in a leveraged buyout valued at $55 billion. As FTMQ Gaming reported earlier, that Saudi-backed consortium completed its buyout of Electronic Arts in August 2026. [4][5][6][7][15]