Adobe and Figma Merger Agreement Terminated – European Commission and CMA Block Acquisition

2023-12-18 17:14:24

The merger between Adobe and Figma will not take place, the two companies announced that they had put an end to the acquisition of the second, by the first, for an amount of 20 billion dollars. Unveiled on September 15, this project aimed to bring a collaborative vector creation platform very popular among interface designers into Adobe’s portfolio.

Figma. Image MacGeneration.

The San Jose publisher had its own solution with XD, but Figma was able to bring together a strong community of customers around its web platform. It also offers a Behance alternative for portfolios as well as a whiteboard tool. Sometimes the simplest path to establishing yourself in a market is to acquire your competitor, which Adobe offered with a check for $20 billion, partly in the form of shares.

Adobe: the European Commission opens “an in-depth investigation” into the acquisition of Figma

A plan which found itself thwarted by the regulatory authorities, in Brussels, but also in London. They reported their worry faced with the risk of stifling competition (Sketch, Frame, Invision Studio, Framer, Miro, etc.) if Figma were merged into the Creative Suite.

After the European Commission, the British regulator wants to block the acquisition of Figma by Adobe

In response, Adobe offered to spin off XD, its prototyping software. A painless amputation since it stopped marketing it this summer. The European Commission and the British CMA wanted a more substantial compensation than the bone thrown by Adobe, citing Photoshop in particular. The publisher also reportedly proposed leaving Figma out of its Creative Suite.

None of this was enough, the two companies now say they are unable to find a clear solution to these obstacles posed by the European and British institutions. Adobe and Figma display their unity in their disagreement with the analysis made by regulators, but for the rest, their paths separate and their competition resumes.

Figma did not lose everything in the affair, he was foreseen that Adobe pays a penalty of $1 billion, in cash, if the acquisition project fails.

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