"The transaction threatens to significantly affect competition in the market for interactive product design and whiteboarding software," the European Commission said on Wednesday.
A review has been requested by Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.also faces possibly lengthy reviews by the U.S. Justice Department and the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority. The acquisition is the most expensive ever for a private software business. San Francisco-based Figma's cloud software helps design teams collaborate in real time and competes directly with Adobe’s XD program. Demand for its products soared during the pandemic when more teams started to work remotely. It was valued at about $2 billion in an April 2020 funding round.
San Jose-based Adobe said in September that it expected to close the deal in 2023, but the agreement allows that to be extended to 2024. "We look forward to working constructively with the European Commission to address its questions and bring the review to a timely close," a Figma spokesperson reportedly told