The European Union has launched an investigation into Adobe’s acquisition of Figma. The US$20 billion purchase raises concerns from the European Union Commission on the grounds that the ruling will reduce competition in interactive design software and digital imaging tools. In a statement by Margrethe Vestager, European Competition Commissioner, The decision will be announced by December 14, 2023..

Such large acquisitions are often the subject of intense scrutiny by the world’s largest economies. The purchase is also being investigated by the UK and the CMA (Marketplace Competition Authority) has identified similar issues with the purchase. Vestager said the investigation is aimed at ensuring what’s best for consumers. “Through our rigorous research, we intend to ensure that users continue to have access to a wide range of digital creative tools to choose from.“. Adobe has promised to keep Figma’s free plan and says the alliance between the two companies will bring significant benefits to users.

Adobe wants to buy Figma for $20 billion

Figma is a San Francisco-based company founded in 2012 and its products are considered direct competitors to Adobe XD and Adobe Illustrator. As such, the acquisition raises suspicions of eliminating competitors, but Adobe says it intends to include platform resources in Figma. “The combination of Adobe and Figma will greatly benefit customers by making product design more accessible and efficient, reimagining creativity on the web, and creating new categories of creativity and productivity.“, the company said in a statement.

An Adobe spokesperson states that the company “devoted to the idea“while maintaining Figma’s independence while also ensuring that the company doesn’t change the plan’s pricing and platform’s free subscription tier.”We remain confident in the merits of the case as Figma’s product design is adjacent to Adobe’s core creative products and Adobe has no serious plans to compete in product design.“. Despite claims, Adobe will need to wait for positive feedback from the United Kingdom and the European Union before finalizing the acquisition.

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Source: Engadget

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