The $20 billion acquisition deal between Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) and cloud-based designer platform Figma has raised concerns among EU antitrust regulators. The European Commission announced on Monday that it has initiated a full-scale investigation into the deal due to potential competition reduction in the global market for interactive product design tools and the potential exclusion of rivals. This confirmation comes after a previous report by Reuters that highlighted the preliminary review’s triggers for concerns.
The heightened scrutiny on tech deals stems from fears that larger companies might be acquiring promising start-ups to stifle competition by shutting them down. Figma’s web-based collaborative platform for designs and brainstorming has gained popularity among various tech firms, including Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ:ZM), Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB), and Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN).
The European Commission’s concern revolves around the removal of a significant rival and the possibility of Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) leveraging its position as the maker of Photoshop to limit competition in the global supply of interactive product design tools. Additionally, the acquisition could prevent Figma from growing into a potent competitor against Adobe’s asset creation tools. The fear of foreclosing rival providers of interactive product design tools arises from the potential bundling of Figma with Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite.
European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, emphasized the importance of ensuring users’ continued access to a diverse range of digital creative tools for their needs. The EU competition enforcer aims to reach a decision on whether to approve or block the deal by December 14.
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Author Faith Yakubu 
