EU regulators put Adobe, Figma deal investigation on hold for more information
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The European Commission said on Tuesday that it had temporarily halted its investigation into Adobe's (NASDAQ:ADBE) proposed $20B acquisition of collaboration design company Figma on the basis it needs more information from the two companies.
"This procedure in merger investigations is activated if the parties fail to provide, in a timely fashion, an important piece of information that the Commission has requested from them," the European Commission said in a statement obtained by Reuters.
The regulator added that it paused its investigation starting on September 19 and will restart it once it receives the information requested for its review.
Adobe (ADBE) told Seeking Alpha that the proposed deal "will deliver significant value to customers by making product design more accessible and efficient, reimagining creative capabilities on the web and creating new categories of creativity and productivity."
In August, the EC put the deal under review on the basis of competition concerns.
"The Commission is concerned that the transaction may reduce competition in the global markets for the supply of interactive product design software and for digital asset creation tools," the regulator said at the time.
Issues of concern for the European Commission are that Figma is the clear market leader for interactive product design tools and given that Adobe (ADBE) is one of its largest competitors, the deal could remove an "important competitive force," as well as the fact that it could impact other players in the market.
That same month, the Competition and Markets Authority, the U.K.'s antitrust agency, said it had terminated the extension of inquiry period into Adobe's (ADBE) proposed deal to acquire Figma on the basis it had received the information requested.
The CMA's review is still ongoing and is set to expire on December 31.
San Jose, California-based Adobe (ADBE) has repeatedly said it still expects the acquisition to close later this year.

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