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European Commission shares concerns surrounding Adobe-Figma deal

European Commission shares concerns surrounding Adobe-Figma deal

The European Commission shared concerns surrounding Adobe’s acquisition of Figma. Unless a list of potential monopoly risks is addressed, the deal will not be completed.

The Figma acquisition is not going smoothly for Adobe. The deal worth 20 billion euros, meanwhile, has been running into investigations from watchdogs from different parts of the world for more than a year.

Concerns about competitiveness

Within the EU, those investigations are still ongoing. In the latest development, the European Commission shares a Statement of Objections. It lists the potential pernicious outcomes for competitiveness that the deal could provoke. The Commission predicts a negative impact mainly on the competitiveness of interactive product design tools and raster editing tools.

Specifically, this is a Statement of Objection, which the European Commission interprets as a formal step in any investigation. It mentions here that the statement does not yet say anything about the final outcome of the case. It is merely an opportunity for Adobe to address concerns and request an oral hearing by the Commission. A final decision on the deal must be made by Feb. 5.

Adobe remains confident

The software developer of design tools is not letting the warnings dampen its spirits. “We remain confident in our case, as Figma’s product design aligns with Adobe’s core creative products, and Adobe has no meaningful plans to compete in product design,” an Adobe spokesperson told Bloomberg.

Still, the EU is not the only hurdle the deal has yet to clear. Watchdogs from the U.K. and the U.S. have also yet to decide on the deal.