Cloud-based designer platform Figma announced on Thursday that it is closing a deal allowing its employees and early investors to sell their stakes to new and existing investors at a valuation of $12.5 billion.
Figma, known for its free online tool used to create, share, and test designs for websites, mobile apps, and other digital products, has been seeking ways for employees to cash out their stock options and restricted stock units. This move follows the collapse of its $20 billion cash-and-stock acquisition deal by Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE).
The company is widely seen as a candidate to go public after antitrust regulators in Europe and Britain blocked the Adobe acquisition in December, which would have been one of the largest acquisitions of a software startup.
New investors, including Fidelity (NYSE:FIS), Franklin Venture Partners, and existing investors like Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz, are expected to acquire stakes totaling about $600 million to $900 million in this secondary sale. Figma was last valued at $10 billion in a private funding round in 2021.
Co-founded by tech executive Dylan Field in 2012, Figma is cash flow positive and has expanded its offerings to include a broader platform for team collaboration with artificial intelligence features.
In January, Figma offered more equity to employees at a $10 billion valuation. Employees who decided to leave the company by January 31 were entitled to three months’ pay in cash, with all their equity vested regardless of their tenure.
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