CMA pushes Adobe’s Figma deal probe deadline back eight weeks
Britain’s competition regulator has announced an extension of eight weeks for its ongoing investigation into Adobe’s $20bn (£16.5bn) acquisition of cloud-based design platform Figma.
The Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) probe, which was set to finish on December 27, has now been rescheduled to wrap up by February 25, 2024, to give it time to look at new evidence, the watchdog said on Wednesday.
A CMA spokesperson said: “We’ve extended our deadline for the Adobe / Figma investigation given the high volume and complex nature of [the] evidence we have received at an advanced stage of the investigation.
“The independent inquiry group will consider this evidence and publish its provisional findings as soon as possible.”
The regulator began an in-depth investigation this summer after Photoshop owner Adobe refused to concede to its concerns that the merger could lead to fewer choices for designers of digital apps, websites and other products.
The CMA’s inquiry group, made up of independent experts, is scrutinising the potential impact of the deal on competition.
The extended timeline comes as Adobe and Figma have presented “a number of detailed arguments” surrounding the competition in product development, growth strategies and how the merger could affect their expansion into new markets.
It is a “necessary” extension for the CMA to have enough time to reach a “fully reasoned final decision” which takes “full and proper account” of the new submissions, along with the rest of the evidence, the regulator said.
Adobe first announced it was acquiring Figma in September 2022.
Figma, a web-based collaborative platform for designs and brainstorming, is a popular choice among tech-based companies such as Zoom and Airbnb.
City PM approached Adobe and Figma for comment.