Adobe Abandons $20 Billion Figma Deal
Adobe's $20 billion Figma deal just died, and I'm not surprised. European and UK regulators killed it over competition concerns, and honestly, they were right. This was Adobe trying to buy their way out of irrelevance by acquiring the competitor that was eating their lunch.
Adobe has to pay Figma a $1 billion breakup fee, which is painful but probably a relief compared to overpaying by $15-20 billion. When they announced this deal, Adobe's market value tanked because investors saw it for what it was - desperation dressed up as strategy.
Here's what's interesting: Figma's expanding and profitable. They don't need Adobe. An IPO is probably their next move, and they'll do fine without being absorbed into Adobe's bloated product suite.
This is part of a bigger pattern. Regulators are finally scrutinizing tech mergers instead of rubber-stamping everything. That's going to change M&A strategy across the industry. Companies can't just acquire their way out of competition anymore.
For designers, this is great news. Figma stays independent, Adobe has to actually innovate, and the design tools market stays competitive. Sometimes the best outcome is when deals fall apart.
More at Reuters.