Unity Enters Into Agreement to Acquire Parsec
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Unity (NYSE: U), the world’s leading platform for creating and operating real-time 3D (RT3D) content, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the high performance remote desktop and streaming technology company, Parsec, which allows gaming and creative professionals to work together from anywhere. This transaction is an important step toward Parsec’s and Unity’s expanded cloud vision: that creators should expect to be able to work from any location, on any device through rich and powerful tools and seamless cloud infrastructure to deliver the real-time 3D experiences of the future.
Under the terms of the agreement, Unity will acquire Parsec for approximately US$320 million in cash. The proposed acquisition is expected to close during Unity’s third quarter and is subject to customary closing conditions.
The work of game development and creative professionals is high fidelity, interactive and immersive, and only getting more complex as creators shift to RT3D. With companies and their employees transitioning to hybrid working and collaboration models, Parsec allows creators to be untethered from the office by meeting the unique requirements to support this level of performance processing no matter the location, device or platform. This means delivering low latency, ultra-high definition desktop streaming (at 4k pixels/60 frames per second) while providing rich detail with the same sampling rate for all images, such as 4:4:4 color space. Additionally, Parsec offers the privacy, security, quality of life and management tools needed for companies to support fleets of computing resources for all of their creators.
“In the past year, companies and their employees have been collaborating and working together in fundamentally different ways,” said Marc Whitten, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Create Solutions at Unity. “With the workplace becoming more flexible, teams expanding and collaborating across multiple locations and creators leveraging a myriad of new devices, it’s clear that the creative process will evolve from on premise devices to flexible and cost effective cloud architectures. Parsec has addressed the unique requirements to support this type of high-performance processing no matter where creators are, showcasing technology that is both highly innovative and prescient. We believe Parsec is a rocket ship and we’re very excited to support their future growth.”
“When Chris Dickson and I started Parsec, we believed Parsec’s ultra-low latency streaming technology could allow anyone in the world to remotely interact with real-time 3D content,” said Benjy Boxer, Parsec’s CEO and co-founder. “In the past year, Parsec has empowered the world’s most inspiring and creative companies to freely work and play from anywhere, on any device, on their own terms. We’re thrilled to partner with Unity, where we can offer even more creators this same kind of liberating access to content and technology.”
As a result of their unique capabilities and the shift to new ways of working, Parsec’s Parsec for Teams subscription business is growing by 170% year-over-year with aggressive plans to accelerate even further next year. Subscription growth is driven by a strong net dollar expansion rate of nearly 200%, a loyal customer base, and strong profitability.
Parsec has become a go-to solution for hybrid work models among gaming companies such as Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Square Enix and is integrated in many of the industry verticals where Unity sells solutions, including media and entertainment, architecture and design, and more. Together, Unity sees an opportunity to drive shared momentum with these customers through targeted cross-selling and bundled solutions.
About Parsec
Founded in 2016 by CTO Chris Dickson and CEO Benjy Boxer, Parsec delivers a best-in-class high frame rate, low-latency remote desktop experience. The Parsec app is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, Raspberry Pi and the web, and Parsec’s SDK allows its streaming technology to be leveraged across any platform.
About Unity
Unity (NYSE: U) is the world’s leading platform for creating and operating real-time 3D (RT3D) content. Creators, ranging from game developers to artists, architects, automotive designers, filmmakers, and others, use Unity to make their imaginations come to life. Unity’s platform provides a comprehensive set of software solutions to create, run and monetize interactive, real-time 2D and 3D content for mobile phones, tablets, PCs, consoles, and augmented and virtual reality devices. The company’s 1,800+ person research and development team keeps Unity at the forefront of development by working alongside partners to ensure optimized support for the latest releases and platforms. Apps developed by Unity creators were downloaded more than five billion times per month in 2020. For more information, please visit www.unity.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding Parsec’s ability to allow gaming and creative professionals to work together from anywhere and Unity’s ability to integrate Parsec’s technology into Unity’s business; Parsec and Unity’s expanded cloud vision; the closing of the transaction; Parsec’s continued ability to deliver high frame rates and resolution and low latency; the increasing demand for flexible workplaces and the evolution from on premise devices to flexible and cost effective cloud architectures; Parsec’s continued growth and Unity’s ability to support that growth; Parsec’s strong presence among gaming companies and other industry verticals; and Unity’s ability to drive shared momentum through targeted cross-selling and bundled solutions. The words “will,” “allows,” “can,” “enable,” “objective” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, such as Unity’s ability to successfully integrate Parsec’s technology and business; costs related to the acquisition; whether potential benefits of the transaction extend to Unity and Parsec’s customers; Unity’s and Parsec’s success developing new products or modifying existing products and the degree to which these gain market acceptance; any unanticipated impact of accounting for the acquisition; and the conditional closing of the transaction. If the risks materialize or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. Further information on these and additional risks that could affect Unity’s results is included in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including our Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 11, 2021, and our future reports that we may file with the SEC from time to time, which could cause actual results to vary from expectations. Unity assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.
