EU Regulators Investigating Adobe’s Proposed $20 Billion Acquisition of Figma
According to the Financial Times, antitrust regulators in Europe are getting ready to initiate a formal inquiry into Adobe’s acquisition of cloud-based designer platform Figma for $20 billion later this year.
EU officials plan to press ahead with a detailed investigation into anti-competitive concerns, which could take several months and could eventually derail the deal altogether, the FT said, citing people with knowledge of the move.
The report comes after Britain’s competition watchdog said last month it was investigating the deal between Adobe and Figma, while Bloomberg reported in February that the US Justice Department was preparing an antitrust lawsuit to block the deal.
The moves highlight concerns among global regulators that big tech companies acquiring smaller, innovative rivals could stifle competition.
EU regulators have previously said Adobe would have to get European Union competition law approval for the Figma deal, even though the deal falls short of the EU’s revenue assessment.
Adobe is still in the early stages of the regulatory process and is in constructive discussions with UK, EU and US regulators about the deal, it said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
Figma did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
