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Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger

figma.com

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Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger

#211

Post by jefftk »

iamleppert wrote: post #125
eigenvalue wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope, from Adobe’s 8K filed today with the SEC: “On December 17, 2023, the Company and Figma mutually agreed to terminate the Merger Agreement and entered into a mutual termination agreement effective as of such date (the “Termination Agreement”). The mutual termination of the Merger Agreement was approved by the Company’s and Figma’s respective Boards of Directors. In accordance with the terms of the Termination Agr…

If I was the board I’d be calling for the CEO’s head after loosing $1 billion for absolutely nothing.

If the value of Figma has fallen by more than $1B since they signed the deal (which I think it probably has) then passing up $1B to get out of the deal is not nuts, especially considering the regulatory opposition. Though it depends more on whether the value of Figma to Adobe and less the agreed acquisition cost has fallen below -$1B, since Adobe was presumably agreeing on a deal that they thought gave them significant surplus.

Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger

#212

Post by [deleted] »

scarface_74 wrote: post #17
hallway_monitor wrote: post #7

It looks like regulators are actually doing their job. I would love to see more of this, along with breaking up companies that have gotten too big for their britches.

The entire purpose of starting a company is to get acquired. Of the literally hundreds of companies that YC has invested in, only 5 have gone public. The VC market will dry up even more if they see their chances of an exit diminishing because of an overzealous government.

[deleted]

Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger

#213

Post by tonyedgecombe »

DaiPlusPlus wrote: post #145
tonyedgecombe wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They couldn't acquire Figma for $20 billion but that doesn't mean Figma isn't acquirable. It just means the founders and investors get a bit less. > and strengthening the situation for the cash-rich behemoths like Microsoft, Google, etc. It certainly isn't good for Adobe as they will have a strong competitor in Figma to deal with.

> It certainly isn't good for Adobe It is good for Adobe: they'll be forced to make their products better. ...I hope!

>It is good for Adobe: they'll be forced to make their products bette

Which they thought was harder than spending $20 billion acquiring a competitor.

Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger

#214

Post by paxys »

Best outcome for consumers. I really hope the experience was expensive enough for Adobe (due diligence, lawyer fees, "lobbying" 3-4 different governments, $1B break-up fee) that the entire big tech M&A market takes a hit.

Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger

#215

Post by wg0 »

Yeah that's sad because couldn't pull a VMWare onto unsuspecting UX desgin community I suppose.

What's wrong with staying a small profitable company that loves what it builds and cares for its customers?

Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger

#216

Post by madeofpalk »

cantSpellSober wrote: post #205
madeofpalk wrote: post #6

Excellent news. I think there should be more products, more companies, and more competition. Adobe just buying up it's competition will only ever directly hurt consumers. See also, "Adobe says the FTC is looking into its subscription cancellation practices." https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/15/24003532/adobe-says-the-...

What Adobe product is intended to compete with Figma, Adobe XD?

Once upon a time, digital product design happened in Photoshop and Illustrator. Then competitors like Sketch and Figma came out with a better product. This made Adobe create XD to compete, but it was unable to make a good product so instead they tried to purcahse their competition instead of making something better.

9 months after Adobe announced it was to purchase Figma (and 3 months before it hoped the deal would close), Adobe discontinued XD.

Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger

#217

Post by dboreham »

duringmath wrote: post #85

The US should start doing something about these foreign governments meddling in US business before it's too late. EU and UK and seemingly everyone else is passing laws and setting up bureaucracies specifically to implement unfair trade restrictions and barriers against US companies and they're basically doing it unopposed, you'd think these actions would at least trigger some tariff threats and WTO complains sadly th…

EU and UK authorities are not quite as corrupt as the US.

Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger

#218

Post by JadoJodo »

While I do see this as great news (for all the reasons others have outlined), I wonder how this will impact VC in the future; If the current goal is for companies to get VC money, burn that cash for years and years and years, and then have a huge IPO or acquisition (that makes it all worth it), it would seem regulatory issues would start to scare away investment.

Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger

#219

Post by patchorang »

cantSpellSober wrote: post #205
madeofpalk wrote: post #6

Excellent news. I think there should be more products, more companies, and more competition. Adobe just buying up it's competition will only ever directly hurt consumers. See also, "Adobe says the FTC is looking into its subscription cancellation practices." https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/15/24003532/adobe-says-the-...

What Adobe product is intended to compete with Figma, Adobe XD?

Yes, XD directly competes with Figma.

Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger

#220

Post by hotpotamus »

paulpan wrote: post #165
hallway_monitor wrote: post #7

It looks like regulators are actually doing their job. I would love to see more of this, along with breaking up companies that have gotten too big for their britches.

At least the European regulators are. Still waiting for US agencies to do their job...case in point: Intuit.

It seems like the common refrain is to blame Lina Kahn for conservatives stacking the courts against her since before she was born.
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