The EU’s antitrust commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, said that the deal could “undermine the supply of tools for interactive product design and digital asset creation” and that it could “remove an important competitive force.”
Long story short:
- The EU’s investigation is set to run until December 14, 2023.
- Adobe has said that it is “confident in the merits of the case” and that it has “no meaningful plans to compete in the product design space.”
- The acquisition of Figma is a major coup for Adobe, which is looking to expand its reach into the growing market for web design software.
- The EU’s investigation raises concerns that the deal could lead to higher prices and less innovation in the design software market.
The EU’s investigation will also look into whether Adobe could use its market power to “foreclose rival providers” by bundling Figma with its own software.
Adobe has said that it is confident that the deal will not harm competition and that it has no plans to compete with Figma in the product design space.
However, the EU’s investigation is likely to delay the closing of the deal, which was originally expected to happen in the first half of 2023.
The acquisition of Figma is a major coup for Adobe, which is looking to expand its reach into the growing market for web design software. Figma is a popular choice among startups and small businesses, and its acquisition would give Adobe a significant foothold in this market.
The EU’s investigation raises concerns that the deal could lead to higher prices and less innovation in the design software market. It will be interesting to see how the investigation plays out and whether Adobe is able to overcome the EU’s concerns.
