The competition authority in the United Kingdom has added Adobe’s proposed $20 billion bid for digital design rival Figma to its ever-growing to-do list. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed today that it had launched an initial “phase 1” merger inquiry, giving relevant stakeholders two weeks to provide comments.
Adobe announced last September that it was withdrawing its $20 billion bid for Figma and was always expected to face regulatory scrutiny. The European Commission (EC) revealed in February that it had assessed the acquisition on the basis of competition, noting that it “threatens to significantly affect competition in the market for interactive product design and whiteboarding software.”
Technology News UK reports that EC stepped in after receiving requests from more than a dozen EU member states, including France and Germany. In other news, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) is reportedly preparing a lawsuit to stop the deal, though nothing has been confirmed.
