Discussion

• @benedictevans Benedict Evans on threads

  I did not understand how this could possibly get past regulatory review even without the current shift in attitudes.  'Company that dominates a market buying a hugely strong new challenger that's changing the market' looked like an old-fashioned textbook competition case.

• @moskov Dustin Moskovitz on threads

  In all seriousness, the Figma team has my sympathies.  A frustrating way to end a long journey.  ❤️

• @carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on threads

  It must be a really tough time for VCs that came of age during the zero interest rate era.  Valuations are tanking, crypto isn't the next big thing and now the DOJ, FTC & EU regulators are eliminating a key option for cashing out on a startup, selling to big tech. …

• @billbliss Bill Bliss on threads

  $1B is a decent consolation prize for Figma, and should give them enough runway to build a sizable standalone business.  Can't see why this won't have a chilling effect for a while though.

• @film_girl Christina Warren on threads

  I understand the impetus to be happy Figma is staying independent (this assumes, of course, that Figma can remain independent and doesn't have to sell to PE fucks or worse), but this failure has a real cost for the company and its workers. …

• @film_girl Christina Warren on threads

  Oof on the Figma deal breaking apart.  Just brutal for the Figma team, who have a great product, but now have lost time, pissed off employees who thought they were getting rich, and are being dumped into a world where their valuation will absolutely be below $20b, where they will…

• @seyitaylor @seyitaylor on threads

  Somewhat disappointed by tech twitter.  There was no universe in which a responsible regulator would let Adobe buy Figma — the first credible threat to its dominance in design in almost 2 decades.  Adobe will have to go buy Sketch and tool up; and Figma will have to fulfil its de…

• @jonlax Jon Lax on threads

  The abandoned Figma/Adobe deal will be interesting to watch over time.  - I don't believe it will increase competition.  Adobe will not have a reasonable competitive product (they tried and decided it was worth $20bn to acquire one).  Another competitor could emerge but unlikely …

• @moskov Dustin Moskovitz on threads

  Following the announcement this morning, over 90% of Figma employees have signed an open letter threatening to quit and join Adobe.  The board of the FTC has until 5pm to resign or the employees will action their plan, proving who holds the real power in these high stakes governa…

• @reporterzoe Zoe Schiffer on threads

  One interesting aspect of this: Figma continued granting RSUs while the merger was pending, but for tax purposes vesting was contingent on continued employment.  This put employees who wanted to leave in an awkward position as the deal stretched on. …

• @diegojimenez Diego Jiménez on threads

  Whoa @adobe abandons $20 billion acquisition of @figma and will need to pay them a $1 billion termination fee in cash.  Both parties blame regulation, but I wonder if the recent wave of generative AI made the acquisition less necessary for Adobe... bittersweet for my Figma friend…

• @zanderwhitehurst Zander Whitehurst on threads

  Design Threads how we feeling about the Adobe Figma abandoned acquisition For me Figma is an unstoppable team and they'll continue to thrive with continued investment in their community and products that align with modern design teams need for collaboration.  Adobe...

• @andybudd Andy Budd on threads

  Figma deal is off.  Though that might happen.  Too much power in the hands of one company.  Obviously they'll be a lot of unhappy Figma employees and early investors.  Tesla might see a few more truck orders cancelled.  However if it leads to a strong IPO and a real competitor to…

• @sdw@mastodon.social @sdw@mastodon.social on mastodon

  adobe: monopoly on almost all design tools  —  figma: basically a monopoly on ui design  —  regulators: this merger seems... anticompetitive  —  people on the internet: wow I did NOT see this coming

• @devolute@mastodon.social @devolute@mastodon.social on mastodon

  This is fantastic news for #UI / #webdesign in general.  It's possibly not great news for Penpot, but they're doing such amazing things now anyway I don't think we need to be particularly worried.  It's bad news for Adobe, which is likely good news for everyone else.  A net win: …

• @simonoliver@mastodon.gamedev.place @simonoliver@mastodon.gamedev.place on mastodon

  Extremely happy about Adobe Figma takeover not happening https://www.theverge.com/... - it's a great product and Adobe would absolutely ruin it

• @mvsde@mastodon.social Fynn Becker on mastodon

  So, Adobe basically abandoned XD and won't own Figma.  —  That's an interesting turn of events.  In fact quite the nice turn for competition and avoiding even more monopolization in the design space.  —  https://www.theverge.com/...  #Adobe #Figma #AdobeXD

• @nathanbarry Nathan Barry on x

  The Figma / Adobe deal is officially off.  Blocked by UK regulators.  A few thoughts: 1.  I don't think this should have been blocked.  The regulators case about competition is pretty weak.  2. This is ultimately good for Figma.  Their innovation and engineering is legendary and …

• @vestager Margrethe Vestager on x

  The proposed acquisition between @Adobe and @figma would have terminated current and prevented future competition between the companies. My statement here 👇 https://ec.europa.eu/...

• @braveben Ben Braverman on x

  The Figma merger's failure represents $8B less capital being returned to LPs (assuming 40% of the cap table), which in turn is 8B fewer dollars that will go into new startups over the next 2-3 years.

• @tanayj Tanay Jaipuria on x

  Figma had raised $333M over the last 10 years in venture financing. Adobe will be giving them 3x that ($1B) in cash as a breakup fee within the next 3 business days.

• @gokulr Gokul Rajaram on x

  ON FIGMA I first met @zoink a decade ago. In our first meeting, I was blown away by his long-term ambition and vision, clarity of product thinking, and attention to detail. The same qualities have helped build @figma into an incredible and beloved product and company, and I'm...

• @garrytan Garry Tan on x

  The knock-on effects of a total arbitrary decision to refuse to give regulatory clarity to one of tech's major acquisitions will decelerate global innovation for decades

• @lessin @lessin on x

  The lesson from Adobe / Figma — you gotta build a real full financially valuable business, not just a ‘strategically valuable asset’ in 2023. [image]

• @katie_roof Katie Roof on x

  Source says the decision to unwind Adobe/Figma was finalized this weekend following a difficult call with European regulators https://www.bloomberg.com/...

• @zoink Dylan Field on x

  After an intense 15 months of review, today Adobe and Figma have decided to end our pending merger, as we no longer see a path toward regulatory approval of the deal. https://www.figma.com/...

• @eladgil Elad Gil on x

  Circulating on chat groups right now “takeaway from Figma/Adobe is don't open a UK office as a US startup”

• @stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x

  Figma has the best days and years ahead to look forward to.

• @gergelyorosz Gergely Orosz on x

  Why regulators might have considered blocking Adobe from buying Figma. Here's a 2022 survey asking 4,000 designers what tools they used for UI design. Add up what Figma plus Adobe share likely accounts for... [image]

• @sm Sara Mauskopf on x

  The Adobe-Figma deal is off because the regulators in the EU and UK haven't approved it. Europe - we are all watching. I expect this will have a chilling effect on startups operating in these countries going forward. https://www.reuters.com/... [image]

• @zck Zak Kukoff on x

  The hit from the lack of Figma employees who would have made ~$10M is rough. Those are the next generation of angel investors, founders, etc. This is the same reason cutting off $20-200M exits has such an outsized impact on overall health of the startup ecosystem

• @zck Zak Kukoff on x

  Regulatory hostility to M&A heightens the power law in venture (and the attendant pressure put on founders). If you raise venture, realize that your only opportunity to find liquidity may now be public markets—and that your investors will push even harder for that outcome

• @alexrkonrad Alex Konrad on x

  Figma gets $1 bil from Adobe for 15 months of limbo, and is now back on its own. A huge VC exit, un-exited. Last valuation: $10 bil (2021) Valuation at sale: $20 bil (2022) If Figma were to raise again now, what kind of valuation could it command on the private market?

• @andrew__reed Andrew Reed on x

  Figma will build a legendary company. The gap between imagination and reality in software is compressing quickly. No team is positioned and motivated to fulfill this mission like the incredible people at @figma. 2024 is going to be quite a year...

• @econliberties @econliberties on x

  NEW: Adobe and Figma have called off their $20 billion merger, citing scrutiny from @JusticeATR and European competition authorities. Another huge win for the anti-monopoly movement, just a day after @FTC won the Illumina-Grail divestiture in court.💪 https://t.co/...

• @mamoonha Mamoon Hamid on x

  Figma is truly a once-in-a-generation company, and its future has never been brighter. Excited for 2024!

• @itsurboyevan Evan Armstrong on x

  The adobe figma being killed strikes me as reasonable. Catch and kill deals are bad for competition and society. While the tech ecosystem could use liquidity, anti-competitive deals don't strike me as the way. Additionally, I get the sense that Adobe rather focus on AI anyway.

• @borrowed_ideas @borrowed_ideas on x

  Not a total shock that $ADBE's Figma deal is called off today. The jury is very much out there in terms of what the impact will be on Adobe in the medium to long-term. (this is what I wrote in June, 2023) [image]

• @adobe @adobe on x

  Adobe and Figma announced we have entered into a mutual agreement to terminate our previously announced merger agreement. We thank our communities for the support. As we turn our sights to 2024 and beyond, we're excited to build on the incredible innovation we delivered in 2023..…

• @thatguybg Brett Goldstein on x

  I think this will be a net positive for figma but horrible for our industry big ideas only get funded if there's a path to liquidity - those paths are clearly drying up

• @rogie @rogie on x

  As a Figmate that works between our product and our community, one thing has remained unchanged in my heart and motivations for working here — I want to help our team make the best damn Figma we can. Nothing has changed.

• @negativespaceca Tom Lowry on x

  In a recent turn of events, we're still continuing to do Figma things as @Figma—lots of exciting stuff on the horizon for 2024! Thx to this community for all of the support through the twists and turns.

• @shpigford Josh Pigford on x

  For all the employees of Figma who've been anxiously awaiting life-changing amounts of money...today sucks. Will they still get huge payouts in a future acquisition or IPO? Almost certainly. But many have spent the last 15 months dreaming/planning for that *now*.

• @altcap Brad Gerstner on x

  Led the Series A just 12 months ago - picks and shovels to AI 🚀. On a day that figma dis-allowed also reminds me that deals early in VC life cycle may be better risk / reward for buyers like $SNOW. Incredible execution and partnership with @KamakshiSivara1 & @bhowmick_ab.

• @darylginn Daryl Ginn on x

  the real reason it took adobe 15 months to decide not to buy figma is because that's how long it took them to open up acrobat reader to check out the contract

• @williamlegate LeGate on x

  How do regulators let the sale of US Steel to Japan go thru, yet they block the sale of Figma to Adobe (both American companies)?????

• @yrechtman Yoni Rechtman on x

  Some over-extrapolation from Adobe x Figma. This was always obviously defensive M&A to catch and kill a competitive threat by the by-far dominant player in the market. It didn't take a lot of imagination to see that it could get killed for being anticompetitive.

• @chappelltracker Chappell Ellison on x

  I see a lot of folks happy about this outcome so I'll see you all back here when Microsoft acquires Figma

• @howardlindzon Coronado ‘Porch’ Lindzon on x

  Nippon Steel buys US Steel...lucky they did not try to by Figma

• @gergelyorosz Gergely Orosz on x

  On the short-term, this is a big loss for employees whose stock would have been liquid. On the longer run: Figma could easily bigger than Adobe in, say, 10 years. Adobe knew this. It's why they were willing to pay so much ($20B) for the company dominating collaborative design.

• @lewis_crofts Lewis Crofts on x

  All you tech companies considering a merger, take note of this statement by ⁦@vestager⁩ on Adobe/Figma abandonment: [image]

• @samuelstolton Samuel Stolton on x

  Adobe's record $20 billion deal for Figma is no more, after heavy regulatory scrutiny from the UK, EU and US meant that the firms couldn't cook up a package to appease anticompetitive concerns. Adobe to pay $1 billion break up fee. More @TheTerminal @business

• @samuelstolton Samuel Stolton on x

  .@vestager on Adobe-Figma termination: “By combining these two companies, the proposed acquisition would have terminated all current and prevented all future competition between them.” https://ec.europa.eu/...

• @anammostarac Ana Mostarac on x

  “Adobe and Figma mutually agreed to terminate the transaction based on a joint assessment that there is no clear path to receive necessary regulatory approvals from the European Commission and the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority.” Europe, the hall monitors of the world.

• @om @om on x

  We have legislative and regulatory bodies that still think we are living in an industrial economy, where we are living in a networked economy. I feel for the Figma team and the same for Adobe. Nonetheless, the customers will help chart the course forward for @zoink

• @diegojimenez Diego Jimenez on x

  Both parties blame regulation, but I wonder if the recent wave of generative AI made the acquisition less necessary for Adobe? Bittersweet for my Figma friends but excited to see what they'll do without the constraints of a big corporation. Long @figma and long @zoink 🙌

• @edsim Ed Sim on x

  End of an era with regulators squashing huge M&A Will be cool to see Figma execute while not under the cloud of am I Adobe or not. Super hard to hire folks into atmosphere like that, decisions can be for ST vs LT Sky's the limit!

• @auchenberg Kenneth Auchenberg on x

  Figma just raised a $1B round by terminating the merger.

• @samwillis Sam Willis on x

  @steveruizok “In accordance with the terms of the Termination Agreement, the Company will make a cash payment to Figma in the previously agreed amount of one billion dollars within three business days” 😲 https://www.sec.gov/...

• @sparklinguy @sparklinguy on x

  All design communities (Read WhatsApp groups + Discord Channels) today: OMG 😱 You know why, right?

• @aexm Ana Milicevic on x

  Can't help thinking if Adobe x Omniture - the deal that defined a decade+ of Adobe's transformation - would have cleared regulatory approval today. Adobe x Figma would have likely been of similar caliber.

• @jeremykauffman Jeremy Kauffman on x

  Imagine working hard for years to create something worth big $$, only for some fucking losers who have never made anything in their lives to violently stop you from selling it. Stop thinking of regulators as well-intentioned. Think of them as evil as rapists or robbers.

• @daniel__designs Daniel Destefanis on x

  Acquisition is no longer happening y'all. Let's still build some great community stuff together next year.

• @bhalligan Brian Halligan on x

  The Adobe acquisition of Figma will not go through after 15 months of regulatory review. I suspect this will give even further pause for large tech firms on the M&A front.

• @growing_daniel Daniel on x

  They're killing our exits. @dingboard_ the biggest victim here.

• @nikitabier Nikita Bier on x

  You will change the world. You will build a massive company. You will NOT get the liquidity event. This is the new economy.

• @packym Packy McCormick on x

  Bad news: regulators locking the tech M&A window. Good news: another great one to add to the tech IPO list when that door opens.

• @parkerortolani Parker Ortolani on x

  I think Figma is better off as an independent company, but I don't think there should've been any sort of serious regulatory pressure to prevent the merger from happening

• @pradyuprasad Pradyumna on x

  does anyone have a good analysis on whether the figma adobe merger would have been good or bad for consumer welfare

• @debarghya_das Deedy on x

  $20B acquisition of Figma at then ~$400M ARR, one of biggest acquisitions of all time, didn't go through. Hoping for a huge IPO for Figma!

• @mattturck Matt Turck on x

  A 15-month regulatory process forcing Adobe and Figma to give up on their deal, when Generative AI completely changed the design game in the meantime anyway 🙄

• @soleio @soleio on x

  The truly great founders and companies flourish over the long term Long @zoink Long @figma

• @nathanbenaich Nathan Benaich on x

  Figma's founding vision was to “eliminate the gap between imagination and reality.” Regulators could learn a thing from that vision. Truly sad of a result 😔

• @scottbelsky Scott Belsky on x

  disappointing outcome, but just want to thank our community & Figma's community for all the support and excitement re: the possibilities. so much respect for @zoink and the whole @figma team - they have such a bright future, and I know we'll look for ways to partner to bring some…

• @lulumeservey Lulu Cheng Meservey on x

  @zoink Figma's best days are ahead 💯

• @julianklymochko Julian Klymochko on x

  *ADOBE AND FIGMA MUTUALLY AGREE TO TERMINATE MERGER PACT Remember it was struck at 100x sales to take out its biggest competitor

• @its_txbrown Ricardo on x

  Well, I am super happy today! “Adobe abandons $20 billion acquisition of Figma” https://www.theverge.com/...

• @invesquotes Leandro on x

  Figma and $ADBE agree to terminate merger. Looked increasingly likely and here it is. I honestly think that with the recent wave of generative AI the Figma acquisition was less necessary for Adobe, more so for $20 billion. [image]

• @buccocapital BuccoCapital Guy on x

  Adobe x Figma acquisition is off World is hostile to big acquisitions going forward. Completely changes the game

• @friedmandave Dave Friedman on x

  Interesting though not surprising. VCs and startups continue to have à significant liquidity problem. Hard to see how it remains a viable asset class if this isn't solved.

• @steveruizok Steve Ruiz on x

  Wow, so this means the $1B fall through fee goes to Figma? Huge

• @pitdesi Sheel Mohnot on x

  Adobe <> Figma merger is off, they didn't get regulatory approval. There will be a lot fewer big $ acquisitions as the US, UK and EU are all hostile towards them.

• r/technology r on reddit

  Adobe abandons $20 billion acquisition of Figma

• @coryweinberg Cory Weinberg on x

  Can Figma avoid the curse of failed startup acquisitions? Its business has been humming along over the past year and it now has a huge cash pile, giving it a better chance. We have numbers. https://www.theinformation.com/ ...