Adobe’s $20 billion deal to acquire figure would be about to hit another roadblock, with whispers of a legal challenge from the United States Department of Justice (DoJ).
Insiders close to the proceedings have said so Bloomberg News (opens in new tab) the DoJ is preparing an antitrust case for the coming months. Under the condition of anonymity, a second mole confessed that the DOJ and Adobe were in talks.
In Europe, EU watchdogs and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority are also closely scrutinizing the details of the merger, which is expected to close this year. Adobe is continuing “constructive and cooperative discussions with regulators in the US, UK, and EU, among others,” a spokesperson said.
Adobe and Antitrust
Adobe has announced that it intends to buy the popular one web development tool mixed to a somehwata in September answer.
Some on Wall St worried about that $20 billion bill, while creatives feared that the Adobe acquisition would mockup software stripped down as the best parts find their way into other Adobe products. .
For Adobe, the acquisition is in line with recent efforts to streamline and simplify graphic design software for a wider audience, including a big push with web-based Adobe Express. By acquiring the UI design firm, the company adds another string to its bow – and another revenue stream.
The DoJ’s antitrust suit would block the deal — at least until it can be determined whether the controversial merger gives Adobe an unfair advantage.
Antitrust laws are designed to prevent one company (or a cartel of companies) from dominating an industry, acting unfairly and reducing competition. In fact, the bigger a company grows, the more companies it can buy, the less competition there is. For the consumer, this risks fewer choices and higher prices.
With the company already dominating in areas like web design software And photo editorsthe DoJ wants to prevent Adobe from monopolizing the space for creative apps.
This isn’t the first antitrust case Adobe has faced, but challenge seems normal for the course of the recently revived DoJ, which is also doggedly pursuing Google through court over an alleged monopoly on digital ad technology.