Adobe, Figma Scrap Planned $20B Buyout Following Regulatory Pushback

December 18, 2023

Marlize van Romburgh

has called off its planned $20 billion purchase of design software startup following pushback from antitrust regulators in the U.K. and 萝莉视频 Union.

Adobe, which will pay a $1 billion deal termination fee to Figma, it saw 鈥渘o clear path to receive necessary regulatory approvals from the 萝莉视频 Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority鈥� to complete the deal. The purchase, announced in 2022, would have ranked among the largest acquisitions of a venture-backed startup in recent years.

San Francisco-based Figma was founded in 2012 and has from investors including a who鈥檚 who of Silicon Valley names: , and .

The Adobe deal would have been for double Figma鈥檚 $10 billion valuation from a 2021 funding round. Among investors, likely would have gained the most. The New York-based firm co-led Figma鈥檚 $3.9 million seed round in 2013 and went on to participate in follow-on rounds.

Regulators scrutinize startup deals

Acquisitions of startups by larger technology companies has drawn increasing scrutiny from regulators in Europe and the U.S. in recent years. The latest major deal to come under intense pressure from antitrust regulators 鈥� though it ultimately went through in October 鈥斅爓as 鈥檚 $69 billion acquisition of .

In the case of Figma, regulators expressed concern that Adobe would be taking out one of its major rivals, harming competition. Figma offers cloud-based collaboration software for graphic, web, UX and other digital designers.

Some investors and analysts have said the more challenging regulatory environment could have a chilling effect on the startup ecosystem by limiting the exit opportunities for venture-backed companies. The vast majority 鈥� around 90% by many estimates 鈥� of successful exit events for startups are M&A deals.

鈥嬧€�”The effects will be felt not only amongst big tech, but also by smaller technology companies who may not be able to command as favorable exit premiums,” , chief investment officer at , . “In the case of Figma, it had accepted an offer from Adobe at twice its valuation.”

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