Adobe Stock (NASDAQ:ADBE)
Following news that the US Department of Justice may soon file suit to stop Adobe’s planned $20B purchase of site designer Figma, Adobe stock fell by roughly 8% as trading advanced on Friday.
The Department of Justice is allegedly prepared to file suit to block Adobe’s (NASDAQ:ADBE) agreement for Figma on worries that the stock-and-cash acquisition would provide Adobe with an unfair edge in the market for web design tools and services. Reports from Bloomberg indicate that the lawsuit may be filed as soon as next week.
Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) isn’t only in the sights of US authorities; antitrust authorities in the UK and EU are also looking into the company. Bank of America Securities analyst Brad Sills speculated that the DOJ’s case may impact the European authorities’ views on the transaction.
Although the case has yet to be resolved, Sills said closing on the purchase may still occur. It should be noted, however, that there is a greater possibility of a holdup in the approval process.
That would generate a longer-term overhang associated with Figma staying an independent firm, according to Sills, who called Figma “a widespread tool in the creative professional end market” and said that the app had 68 million users.
According to William Blair analyst Jake Roberge, Adobe stock can appeal a Department of Justice (DOJ) decision to block the acquisition. A final verdict may be reached in the summer of 2023 due to the “exaggerated legal procedure.
Roberge has said that Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) will be responsible for a $1B breakup fee even if the acquisition cannot go through due to regulatory concerns. Even if the merger doesn’t go through, Roberge is certain that Adobe’s (ADBE) core creative property will continue to expand at double-digit rates over the next several years without Figma.
In a separate development, earlier this week, Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) and Qualcomm came to an agreement for Qualcomm to utilize Adobe’s marketing tools. The arrangement was inked by Adobe earlier this week.
Featured Image: Unsplash @ Rubaitul Azad
Author Shariq Khan 
