In the UK, opposition is growing against Adobe's plans to take over Figma. The British Competition Authority (CMA) opposes the transaction, fearing a negative impact on the market and monopolization of services in the field of graphic software delivery.
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Adobe has revealed plans to take over the Figma platform and is ready to pay 20 billion dollars for it. According to Reuters reports, however, the UK Competition Office (CMA) has issued an opinion that the merger poses a threat to the innovation of services used by most designers in the UK.
As stated in the office's announcement, the transaction may "eliminate competition", "limit innovation" and "remove Figma as a threat to Adobe's flagship products: Photoshop and Illustrator". In this context, the CMA is therefore considering the possibility of blocking the merger or imposing on Adobe the requirement to sell certain parts of its business.
– Adobe and Figma are two leading global providers of software for application and website designers, and our previous investigation has shown that they are close competitors. Therefore, the proposed agreement may affect the UK digital design industry, limiting choice, innovation and the development of new competitive products – said Margot Daly, chair of the independent group conducting the CMA investigation.
In its statement, Adobe comments that the company is disappointed with this opinion and disagrees with the CMA's assumptions. "Adobe and Figma will provide customers with significant value" – we read in the statement.
British and European regulatory bodies unanimously emphasize that Figma could become a competitor to Adobe in the field of image and illustration editing software. A competition partner at the British law firm Fladgate points out that the task for both sides of the merger will now be to convince competition supervision institutions that their analysis contains errors or that there is a need to develop and implement remedial actions that will stop the actions.
The investigation is still ongoing, and the transaction is being examined by the UK Competition Office (CMA), the European Union and the United States Department of Justice. At this point, it is known that problems have been identified that need to be resolved before finalizing the agreement. The CMA is collecting opinions on this matter and possible proposals to resolve the situation.
Adobe and Figma have until December 19 to present their version, and the final decision is to be made by February 25, 2024.
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