Monopolies watchdog the Competition and Markets Authority will investigate Adobe’s $20 billion acquisition of web design software firm Figma to find out if it would lead to a “substantial lessening of competition”.
Photoshop owner Adobe agreed to acquire Figma in September of last year, paying $20 billion in cash and stock. Figma’s web design tools compete with Adobe’s own product XD.
Besides the CMA probe, Adobe is also in discussions with the US Department of Justice and the European Commissionon the competition implications of the deal.
An Adobe spokesperson said the firm woould expect majors deals such as this one to be looked at.
“In the current robust regulatory environment, we expect lengthy reviews of transactions,” the spokesperson said.
“We have been delighted to hear feedback from customers, industry analysts, and partners who are excited about the benefits the transaction will unlock by making product design more accessible and efficient, accelerating collaborative creativity on the web, and creating new categories of creativity and productivity to advance creativity for all.
“We look forward to continuing to engage with the DOJ, CMA and EC in productive discussions about the businesses, markets and positive economic impacts this deal will bring as they conduct their reviews.
“As demonstrated in our most recent earnings, Adobe continues to execute against its massive $200B-plus market opportunity and deliver groundbreaking innovations and industry-leading AI capabilities across our products.”
The announcement comes a week after the CMA blocked another tech mega-merger: Microsoft’s plan to take over Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard. The CMA said that that deal could limit competition in the growing cloud gaming market.
