Adobe Abandons $20 Billion Bid for Figma, Citing Regulatory Opposition to Deal, Will Pay $1 Billion Breakup Fee

variety.com:

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Adobe called off plans to buy Figma, a web-based collaborative design platform, citing regulatory opposition to the proposed $20 billion deal.

Adobe and Figma on Monday said they mutually agreed to terminate their merger agreement, originally announced Sept. 15, 2022.

Adobe said it will pay Figma the previously agreed-on deal-termination fee of $1 billion. “Although both companies continue to believe in the merits and procompetitive benefits of the combination, Adobe and Figma mutually agreed to terminate the transaction based on a joint assessment that there is no clear path to receive necessary regulatory approvals from the European Commission and the U.K.

Competition and Markets Authority,” the companies said. In a Nov. 28 report, the U.K.’s CMA said it “provisionally found competition concerns as part of its in-depth investigation of the anticipated acquisition by Adobe Inc.