Adobe, Figma End $20B Merger: What's Behind the Abrupt Decision?

Adobe Inc ADBE and Figma mutually agreed to terminate their previously announced $20 billion merger agreement, originally shared on September 15, 2022, under which Adobe decided to snap Figma for a mix of cash and stock consideration.

Adobe and Figma have decided to call off their deal after concluding that obtaining the required regulatory clearances from the European Commission and the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority is unlikely.

Adobe will have to pay Figma a reverse termination fee of $1 billion in cash, the Verge reports.

"Adobe and Figma strongly disagree with the recent regulatory findings, but we believe it is in our respective best interests to move forward independently," said Shantanu Narayen, chair and CEO of Adobe.

"Going through this process with Shantanu, David, and the Adobe team has only reinforced my belief in the merits of this deal, but it's become increasingly clear over the past few months that regulators don't see things the same way," said Dylan Field, co-founder and CEO, Figma. 

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.

In 2023, U.S. chipmaker Broadcom Inc AVGO and cloud software company VMware, Inc bagged every regulatory approval required to close their merger deal. 

Reportedly, Amazon.Com Inc's AMZN proposed acquisition of Roomba robot vacuum maker IRobot Corp IRBT will likely win unconditional approval from EU antitrust authorities.

Price Action: ADBE shares traded higher by 1.92% at $595.88 premarket on the last check Monday.