Adobe announced last September that it would acquire Figma, an online design collaboration platform, for $9 billion. This June, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) intervened in the investigation.Preliminary investigation resultsIt is believed that this transaction may affect market competition and even lead to a reduction in more innovation opportunities in the market.
Since Figma holds approximately 80% of the design market share and is involved in a design-related application services industry valued at approximately US$194 billion, the UK Competition and Markets Authority believes that if Figma does not merge with Adobe, it will be able to continue to build software services that compete with Adobe. Therefore, it believes that Adobe's acquisition of Figma will lead to an imbalance in market competition.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority said that since the design-related industry in the UK has an annual revenue of about US$600 billion and employs about 85 technical personnel, it will further clarify whether Adobe's transaction will affect economic development in the UK.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority has not yet made a final ruling and is expected to hear further opinions and make an assessment based on Adobe's response.
Adobe emphasized that its market focus is completely different from that of Figma, and explained that Figma is mainly focused on building interactive products related to online collaboration platforms, while Adobe itself focuses on creative tool products. It also stated that it will cooperate with relevant regulatory agencies and hopes to successfully complete this acquisition transaction within this year.
In addition to the UK Competition and Markets Authority, includingEU, U.S. Department of JusticeAn investigation into Adobe's transaction was recently launched, with concerns that Adobe's acquisition of Figma will affect the platform selection rights of most professional designers. It may also significantly increase the usage rate of Adobe's services, causing unfair competition and development to other creative platforms and tool providers.
