"The companies have signed a termination agreement that resolves all outstanding matters from the transaction, including Adobe paying Figma the previously agreed upon termination fee." - that's from the announcement on the Adobe blog. Does that mean that they do not have to pay the $1bn break-up fee to Figma now?
Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger
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Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger
#222Earlier 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!
That would certainly be good for Adobe's users, but it means they'll have to put in a lot of work, which costs money that could otherwise buy so many yachts.
Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger
#223Earlier quoted context omitted.
Public approval like this is a good signal to send to the regulators (and disapproval when they fail to do their job) -- it helps counterbalance the pressure from lobbyists and politicians aligned with industries.
What’s the best way to send signals to regulators?
Vote for politicians who don't run on a platform of deregulation for deregulation's sake.
Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger
#224Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger
#225Excellent 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-...
Got bit by this. It felt absolutely horrible to not have any recourse. We had a yearly adobe sign contract, it was based on a particular usage estimate and quite high. Called in weeks before the renewal and they said we missed the window to cancel. There was no option out of it. No escalation. Had to stomach a massive bill for of a product we weren't going to use.
Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger
#226That's great news.
I wish someone would undo Adobe's Allegorithmic buyout, they lost all their ambition after buyout.
Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger
#227Earlier quoted context omitted.
If your only goal in founding a company is to get acquired, you haven't made a company; you've made a product, and probably not a profitable one. We should be encouraging way more medium-sized companies, that operate sustainable business models, make money for their founders and employees, and aren't subsidized by cheap money. I think if startups actually had to sustain themselves we'd see a lot less grift and waste…
I don’t disagree with the notion that there should be more medium sized, self sustaining (“lifestyle?”) companies, but such statements are rarely if ever followed up with _why_ this is a desirable outcome for everyone involved.
I guess it comes back to how you view the current system. If you find the idea of unicorns and acquisitions and the further centralization of capital distasteful, it's kind of self-evident why you'd want to see something that represents a break from that norm.
For me, yes, I see the obvious argument that more money leads to more (and faster) innovation. But it can also result in an economy that is too tightly coupled and dependent on the might of a few massive companies, whereas an economy that is distributed across more smaller businesses is more robust.
At the extreme, you might imagine South Korea: a country that is highly consolidated into one or two major cities and propped up by massive, economy-shaping corporations. I don't think anyone would disagree that Korea made massive economic strides in a short period of time, but I think there's much more debate about the long-term health of the Korean economy and people now that their continued prosperity is so centralized.
And, of course, there's the consumer angle; though I can't claim any scientific methodology, my impression of the sentiments surrounding this merger are that it was pretty popular with Figma's investors and employees (understandably so, as they stood to gain from the merger), but was deeply unpopular with their customers. You could make the argument that "a Figma owned by Adobe is better than no Figma at all," but consumers have seen it all before at this point: a good product is acquired, and then either a) the pricing model changes, b) the rate of innovation slows down, c) the product is ultimately abandoned somewhere down the line, etc, etc. None of these outcomes are essential truths, but they are common outcomes of companies getting larger and larger to the point where a business unit that is otherwise healthy is deprioritized because it is not profitable enough or growing fast enough for the larger parent to care; or, conversely, the smaller parts suffer because the larger parent encounters trouble and can no longer sustain their acquisitions, even if they are keeping the bloat afloat.
Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger
#228Excellent 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-...
Got bit by this. It felt absolutely horrible to not have any recourse. We had a yearly adobe sign contract, it was based on a particular usage estimate and quite high. Called in weeks before the renewal and they said we missed the window to cancel. There was no option out of it. No escalation. Had to stomach a massive bill for of a product we weren't going to use.
Is not paying an option? Ran into this issue with a large software provider once but they had some actual account management negligence / weren't responsive so we used that to hang our hat on not paying and eventually they let it go.
Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger
#229As someone who enjoyed using Figma, this is an excellent news. However, I am afraid they will sell to someone else. Namely, Microsoft.
That's still a better long term outcome than selling to Adobe
Agree 100%. Microsoft would actually make the product a lot better and add useful AI elements to it. I just don’t trust Adobe.
Re: Figma and Adobe abandon proposed merger
#230Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would expect that to only get paid if solely one side were responsible for blowing up the deal. This is expressly saying both have mutually agreed.
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…
Wow, thanks for the reference!