Figma and Adobe Abandon $20 Billion Acquisition Plan
Dylan Field, co-founder and CEO of Figma:
Figma and Adobe have reached a joint decision to end our pending
acquisition. It’s not the outcome we had hoped for, but despite
thousands of hours spent with regulators around the world
detailing differences between our businesses, our products, and
the markets we serve, we no longer see a path toward regulatory
approval of the deal.
We entered into this agreement 15 months ago with the goal of
accelerating what both Adobe and Figma could do for our respective
communities. While we leave that future behind and continue on as
an independent company, we are excited to find ways to partner for
our users.
From a joint press release:
Although both companies continue to believe in the merits and
procompetitive benefits of the combination, Adobe and Figma
mutually agreed to terminate the transaction based on a joint
assessment that there is no clear path to receive necessary
regulatory approvals from the European Commission and the UK
Competition and Markets Authority.
“Adobe and Figma strongly disagree with the recent regulatory
findings, but we believe it is in our respective best interests
to move forward independently,” said Shantanu Narayen, chair and
CEO, Adobe.
Adobe owes Figma a $1 billion termination fee, but it’s unclear to me whether Figma was adequately prepared to go it alone as an independent company. Who else could and would acquire them for a similar price?
Benedict Evans, on Threads:
I did not understand how this could possibly get past regulatory
review even without the current shift in attitudes. ‘Company that
dominates a market buying a hugely strong new challenger that’s
changing the market’ looked like an old-fashioned textbook
competition case.
★
Dylan Field, co-founder and CEO of Figma:
Figma and Adobe have reached a joint decision to end our pending
acquisition. It’s not the outcome we had hoped for, but despite
thousands of hours spent with regulators around the world
detailing differences between our businesses, our products, and
the markets we serve, we no longer see a path toward regulatory
approval of the deal.
We entered into this agreement 15 months ago with the goal of
accelerating what both Adobe and Figma could do for our respective
communities. While we leave that future behind and continue on as
an independent company, we are excited to find ways to partner for
our users.
Although both companies continue to believe in the merits and
procompetitive benefits of the combination, Adobe and Figma
mutually agreed to terminate the transaction based on a joint
assessment that there is no clear path to receive necessary
regulatory approvals from the European Commission and the UK
Competition and Markets Authority.
“Adobe and Figma strongly disagree with the recent regulatory
findings, but we believe it is in our respective best interests
to move forward independently,” said Shantanu Narayen, chair and
CEO, Adobe.
Adobe owes Figma a $1 billion termination fee, but it’s unclear to me whether Figma was adequately prepared to go it alone as an independent company. Who else could and would acquire them for a similar price?
I did not understand how this could possibly get past regulatory
review even without the current shift in attitudes. ‘Company that
dominates a market buying a hugely strong new challenger that’s
changing the market’ looked like an old-fashioned textbook
competition case.