Videogaming company Unity Software on Monday rejected AppLovin's $17.54 billion takeover offer and said it would move ahead with its merger with ironSource, an Israeli software company that helps mobile developers scale their apps.
App marketing services company AppLovin (ticker: APP) had proposed to buy Unity Software earlier this month. According to AppLovin, the combined company could have generated more than $3 billion in run-rate adjusted Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, by the end of 2024. Comparatively, Unity $(U)$ and ironSource $(IS)$ are expected to generate a run rate of $1 billion in Adjusted Ebitda, during the same period, Unity's recent press release states.
But Unity said AppLovin's offer was "not in the best interests of Unity shareholders and wouldn't reasonably be expected to result in a Superior Proposal"
Unity's stock dropped 8.19% to $53.68 in early Monday trading, whereas ironSource shares jumped 10.72% to $4.44. AppLovin's stock fell 6.86% to $33.83.
Unity's bet is on the long-term. It said the ironSource transaction "will deliver an opportunity to generate long-term value through the creation of a unique end-to-end platform" that will bring together Unity's game engine and editor with ironSource's publishing platforms. Unity's software has been used to build popular games such as Call of Duty.