2023-12-18 20:05:42
Creative software giant Adobe and the collaborative design platform Figma announced Monday the abandonment of the merger project that was presented in September 2022 for $20 billion, due to doubts related to regulatory licenses.
“Although both companies believe in the competitive advantages and benefits of their union, Adobe and Figma have mutually agreed to terminate the transaction,” the two groups said in a joint statement.
The two groups noted that they took this decision after “a joint evaluation of the lack of a clear path to obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals from the European Commission and the British Competition and Markets Authority.”
The two groups added in a statement addressed to the US Stock Market Supervisory Authority, that according to an agreement to end the project that they concluded on Sunday, Adobe will pay compensation amounting to one billion dollars to figma company.
The amount offered by Adobe (owner of many popular software programs, including Photoshop and Illustrator) was much higher than the estimated value of Figma during the last fundraising. The company, which was founded in 2012 in San Francisco, raised $200 million in June 2021, with a total value of $10 billion.
Adobe planned to finance the deal, half with stock and half in cash.
The British Competition and Markets Authority had expressed its concerns in June before opening an in-depth investigation in mid-July, fearing consequences at the level of competition but also for the “creative design” of images, videos or animation, an area in which Adobe is classified as a leader, but Figma “ It represents an emerging competitive threat.
The European Commission, which launched an investigation in August, considered this acquisition “likely to limit competition,” in a preliminary opinion published on November 17.
“Adobe and Figma strongly disagree with the recent findings of regulatory authorities, but we believe it is in our best interest to move forward independently,” Adobe President Shantanu Narain said in the statement.
Within ten years, Figma, which has about 850 employees, has been able to establish itself as a reference tool for many companies, including a number of technology giants, to the point of competing with established companies such as Adobe.
In electronic trading before the opening of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, Adobe shares rose by 1.89%.
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