Sigma Healthcare Shares Slide Amid Preliminary Boots Acquisition Talks 
Trump Administration Defends Anthropic AI Restrictions in Ongoing Federal Lawsuit 
BHP Port Hedland Workers Back Strike Action Amid Pay Dispute 
Meta Partners With Reliance to Launch First AI-Powered Data Center in India 
Coupang Hit With Record $409 Million Fine Over Data Breach Affecting 33 Million Users 
SK Hynix Stock Rebounds as AI Memory Chip Demand Fuels Expansion Plans 
Alaska Air Group Eyes Return of Financial Guidance as Fuel Market Volatility Eases 
Oracle Stock Falls Despite Earnings Beat as Company Plans $40 Billion Financing for FY2027 
SpaceX IPO Demand Surges Past $250 Billion Ahead of Historic Market Debut 
Nvidia Expands South Korea AI Partnerships to Strengthen Data Center and Memory Chip Supply 
Naver Stock Jumps on NVIDIA Partnership to Build South Korea’s AI Infrastructure 
Intesa Sanpaolo Launches €30.6 Billion Bid for Monte dei Paschi to Drive Italian Banking Consolidation 
GSK Reportedly Nears $9 Billion Acquisition of Cancer Drug Developer Nuvalent 
Honda Leadership Crisis Deepens as Retired Executives Challenge CEO Toshihiro Mibe’s Strategy 
OpenAI May Slash AI Service Prices Amid Growing Rivalry With Anthropic 
Bouygues, Orange and Iliad Strike €20.35 Billion Deal to Acquire SFR 
J.P. Morgan Sees Major Upside for Prysmian as Optical Fiber Prices Surge 
Adobe Inc. and Figma Inc. have terminated their merger deal, which is valued at $20 billion. It was reported that the cancellation of the agreement was a mutual decision.
Adobe and Figma said on Monday, Dec. 18, that they decided to call off their merger bid after facing issues with competition regulators in the United Kingdom. As per CNBC, shares of Adobe shot up to about 1.8% in the pre-market after the news made headlines.
Initial Announcement of the Acquisition Deal
Adobe's acquisition of Figma was first revealed in September 2020. The agreed payment terms were a cash-and-stock deal worth about $20 billion. At that time, the stock price of the San Jose, California-headquartered computer software company plummeted on the news. Still, Adobe explained that the merger would significantly boost its portfolio.
To further convince the market that the deal is beneficial, the company said at that time that "the combination of Adobe and Figma will usher in a new era of collaborative creativity." However, the deal could not immediately proceed since the companies' merger must first be approved by the competition watchdogs.
Now, with the deal's termination, Adobe is required to compensate Figma with a $1 billion breakup fee. The company indicated the charge in its recent regulatory filing.
Canceled Deal After Hitting Regulator Roadblock
Antitrust regulators have recently been scrutinizing a good number of tech deals involving both minor and major firms. In the case of Adobe and Figma's agreement, the companies determined that they were not likely to get approvals from the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority and the European Commission. This realization led to their decision not to move forward with their merger.
"Adobe and Figma strongly disagree with the recent regulatory findings, but we believe it is in our respective best interests to move forward independently," Adobe's chairman and chief executive officer, Shantanu Narayen, said in a press release. "While Adobe and Figma shared a vision to jointly redefine the future of creativity and productivity, we continue to be well positioned to capitalize on our massive market opportunity and mission to change the world through personalized digital experiences."
Photo by: Szabo Viktor/Unsplash
