Adobe could face legal action over $20bn Figma deal
Controversial acquisition could lead to antitrust lawsuit
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Adobe’s $20 billion deal to acquireFigmacould be about to hit another roadblock, with whispers of a legal challenge from the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
Insiders close to proceedings toldBloomberg Newsthe DoJ is preparing an antitrust lawsuit for the coming months. Under condition of anonymity, a second mole confessed that the DOJ and Adobe were in talks.
In Europe, EU watchdogs and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority are also looking closely at the details of the merger, which is expected to complete this year. Adobe continues “constructive and cooperative discussions with regulators in the US, UK and EU among others,” a spokesperson said.
Adobe and antitrust
Adobe announced it’s intention to buy the popularweb development toolin September to a somehwata mixedresponse.
Some on Wall St were concerned over that $20bn bill, while creatives feared Adobe’s takeover could see themockup softwaregutted as its best parts make their way into other Adobe products. .
For Adobe, the acquisition aligns with recent attempts to streamline and simplifygraphic design softwarefor a broader audience, including a big push with the web-basedAdobe Express. By acquiring the UI design firm, the company adds another string to its bow - and another revenue stream.
The DoJ’s antitrust lawsuit would block the deal - at least until it can be established whether the controversial merger gives Adobe an unfair edge.
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Antitrust laws are designed to stop one company (or a cartel of companies) dominating an industry, operating unfairly, and reducing competition. Effectively, the bigger a company grows, the more firms it can buy, the less competition there is. For consumers, that risks fewer choices and higher prices.
With the company already dominating in fields likeweb design softwareandphoto editors, the DoJ wants to prevent Adobe monopolizing the creative apps space.
This isn’t the first antitrust lawsuit Adobe has faced - but challenge seems par for the course for the recently re-energised DoJ, which is also doggedly pursuingGooglethrough the courts over an alleged monopoly over digital ad technology.
Steve is TechRadar Pro’s B2B Editor for Creative & Hardware. He began in tech journalism reviewing photo editors and video editing software at the magazine Web User, where he also covered technology news, features, and how-to guides. Today, he and his team of reviewers test out a range of creative software, hardware, and office furniture. Once upon a time, he wrote TV commercials and movie trailers. Relentless champion of the Oxford comma.
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