Adobe and collaborative interface design tool provider Figma will not complete\u00a0their planned $20 billion merger, as pressure from US and European regulators made the deal\u2019s path to completion too treacherous.<\/p>\n
The companies, in a joint statement issued Monday, said that the deal would have been a boon to both parties, but that the regulatory climate made it impossible.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdobe and Figma strongly disagree with the recent regulatory findings, but we believe it is in our respective best interests to move forward independently,\u201d said Adobe chair and CEO Shantanu Narayen. \u201cWhile Adobe and Figma shared a vision to jointly redefine the future of creativity and productivity, we continue to be well positioned to capitalize on our massive market opportunity and mission to change the world through personalized digital experiences.<\/p>\n
The EU Commission\u00a0published a Statement of Objections last month, saying that the potential for the deal to reduce competition in multiple markets, most notably vector- and raster-editing tools and interactive product design applications. In the former market, according to the EU Commission, Figma currently serves as necessary competition to Adobe, which the deal would undermine. The same assertion was made in regard to the interactive product design market, with the combination of the two companies likely to create a dominant position.<\/p>\n
The UK\u2019s Competition and Markets Authority said much the same thing as the EU Commission last month, saying that the deal would result in \u201ca substantial lessening of competition\u201d in the aforementioned markets and that it would remove the impetus for Adobe to develop certain types of products independently, stifling innovation.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur provisional conclusion is therefore that the Merger would remove competition between close competitors and an important competitive constraint on Figma, in a market in which Figma is already the strongest player by far and there are few other competitive constraints,\u201d the regulator\u2019s report said.<\/p>\n