Adobe Inc, previously referred to as Adobe Systems Inc, is a multinational software company headquartered in California, USA. It specializes in software for creating graphics, photography, illustration and animation, etc. The company’s popular tools include Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Adobe was founded in 1982 and was reportedly considered one of the global leaders in Customer Experience Management in 2021.
According to Adobe, the deal to purchase Figma for $20 billion USD has been cancelled due to regulatory blocks in Europe. Figma is a web application used for prototyping user interface (UI) designs, with a focus on collaboration. It was founded in 2016 by 2 computer science students.
The acquisition plans started in September 2022 and both parties agreed on an 18 month purchase deadline before a penalty will apply to the buyer. Although the deadline is months away, the companies have confirmed that securing the regulatory approvals is not possible at this time, and have decided to move on from the deal, costing Adobe a $1 billion USD termination fee.
According to the European Commission and United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority, this acquisition could have stifled digital design innovation due to legacy monopoly.
