By Adedapo Adesanya
Creative digital technology giant, Adobe, has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Figma, a leading web-first collaborative design platform, for $20 billion in cash and stock.
In a press release seen by Business Post, it was stated that the combination of Adobe and Figma will usher in a new era of collaborative creativity.
“Adobe’s mission is to change the world through digital experiences. Today, the digital economy runs on Adobe’s tools and platforms, and throughout its history, the company’s innovations have touched billions of lives across the globe. From revolutionizing imaging and creative expression with Photoshop; to pioneering electronic documents through PDF; to creating the digital marketing category with Adobe Experience Cloud, Adobe continues to invent and transform categories,” the statement said.
When approved, Adobe and Figma will reimagine the future of creativity and productivity, accelerate creativity on the web, advance product design and inspire global communities of creators, designers and developers.
The combined company will have a massive, fast-growing market opportunity and capabilities to drive significant value for customers, shareholders and the industry.
Speaking on this, Shantanu Narayen, chairman and CEO, Adobe said — “Adobe’s greatness has been rooted in our ability to create new categories and deliver cutting-edge technologies through organic innovation and inorganic acquisitions.
“The combination of Adobe and Figma is transformational and will accelerate our vision for collaborative creativity.”
With Adobe’s and Figma’s expansive product portfolio, the combined company will have a rare opportunity to power the future of work by bringing together capabilities for brainstorming, sharing, creativity and collaboration and delivering these innovations to hundreds of millions of customers.
“Figma has built a phenomenal product design platform on the web,” said Mr David Wadhwani, president of Adobe’s Digital Media business. “We look forward to partnering with their incredible team and vibrant community to accelerate our joint mission to reimagine the future of creativity and productivity.”
On his part, Mr Dylan Field, co-founder and CEO, Figma notes that “With Adobe’s amazing innovation and expertise, especially in 3D, video, vector, imaging and fonts, we can further reimagine end-to-end product design in the browser, while building new tools and spaces to empower customers to design products faster and more easily.”
Figma has a total addressable market of $16.5 billion by 2025. The company is expected to add approximately $200 million in net new ARR this year, surpassing $400 million in total ARR exiting 2022, with best-in-class net dollar retention of greater than 150 per cent. With gross margins of approximately 90 per cent and positive operating cash flows, Figma has built an efficient, high-growth business.
The transaction is expected to close in 2023, subject to the receipt of required regulatory clearances and approvals and the satisfaction of other closing conditions, including the approval of Figma’s stockholders.
Upon the closing of the transaction, Mr Dylan Field, Figma’s co-founder and CEO, will continue to lead the Figma team, reporting to Mr David Wadhwani, president of Adobe’s Digital Media business. Until the transaction closes, each company will continue to operate independently.
