Similar to the case of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, Adobe’s merger with Figma is very difficult and complicated. Almost a year ago, more precisely, in September 2022, Adobe announced that it wanted to buy the design platform Figma for $20 billion. In July, we wrote that the British regulator has launched an investigation into the merger of the two companies. Well, the European Union (EU) also has every opportunity to disrupt the “Adobe” and “Figma” deal.
The European Commission (EC) has announced that it has launched an in-depth antitrust investigation into Adobe’s plans to acquire Figma. The EC is concerned that the deal could “reduce competition in the supply of interactive product design software and digital asset creation tools”. This investigation could continue until December, as the EC is due to decide on the next steps regarding this deal on December 14. These include, for example, the requirement to make corrections to the contract, to approve or reject the transaction. It should be noted that already in February, the EC announced that it would evaluate the merger of Adobe and Figma after at least 16 EU bloc countries had asked to do so.
In parallel with the EC investigation, the merger of the two companies is still being evaluated in the United States and Great Britain. The biggest threat to the deal now is British regulators, who launched the second phase of an antitrust investigation on July 13 after Adobe and Figma failed to offer solutions to antitrust issues. The deadline for this investigation is December 27. Given these hurdles, it is unlikely that the merger between the two companies could happen this year, as previously expected.
2023-08-09 08:00:00
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