Adobe, Figma $20 Billion Deal to Face Full-Scale EU Antitrust Probe After Preliminary Review

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Adobe’s $20 billion (roughly Rs. 1,63,400 crore) bid for cloud-based designer platform Figma will face a full-scale EU antitrust investigation following EU regulators’ preliminary review, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

The move underscores antitrust watchdogs’ wariness of tech deals where bigger companies may acquire rival start-ups to shut them down.

An Adobe spokesperson declined to comment on the EU review. The spokesperson said: “We continue to have productive conversations with regulatory bodies worldwide. We are excited about the value Adobe and Figma will bring to customers by making product design more accessible and efficient.”

The European Commission declined to comment.

The European Commission earlier this year warned of the threat the deal poses to competition in the market for interactive product design and whiteboarding software. The EU competition enforcer is scheduled to finish its initial scrutiny by August 7.

Figma’s Web-based collaborative platform for designs and brainstorming is hugely popular among tech firms including Zoom Video Communications, Airbnb and Coinbase.

Earlier this month, Britain’s antitrust regulator announced an in-depth probe of Adobe’s $20 billion (roughly Rs. 1,63,400 crore) bid for cloud-based designer platform Figma, after the Photoshop owner said it would not offer any remedies to ease the regulator’s concerns.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said late last month it had found the deal could lead to less choice for designers of digital apps, websites and other products, and identified concerns in the supply of screen design software, where the companies compete.

It had given Adobe five working days to submit proposals to address its concerns. But on July 7, the US company told the CMA it would not offer any remedies, the CMA said.

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