U.K. Antitrust Probes into Adobe’s $20 Billion Figma Acquisition Deal
U.K. Antitrust Probes into Adobe’s $20 Billion Figma Acquisition Deal
The U.K. competition authority has added Adobe’s proposed acquisition of Figma, a digital design competitor, in its list of tasks.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in its latest announcement has confirmed that it has initiated ‘Phase 1’ merger inquiry, and has provided relevant stakeholders with a two-week comment period.
In September, 2022 Adobe had first confirmed it was tabling a $20 billion bid for Figma and had expected to draw at least some regulatory scrutiny.
In February, the European Commission (EC) revealed that it was assessing the acquisition on competition grounds, noting that the deal ‘threatens to significantly affect competition in the market for interactive product design and whiteboarding software.’
The EC intervened after receiving requests from more than a dozen constituent EU countries, including France and Germany.
Succeeding the initial Adobe-Figma merger inquiry notice period which ends on 18th May, the CMA will have until 30th June to assess its findings and decide whether to proceed to an in-depth ‘phase 2’ investigation.
