Adobe Inc., originally called Adobe Systems Incorporated, is an American multinational computer software company are excited to share their intent to acquire Figma, a collaborative web application for interface design, with additional offline features enabled by desktop applications for macOS and Windows.

Dylan Field, Co-founder & CEO, Figma, said, “Today, we’re announcing that Figma has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Adobe. This has been in the works over the past few months and I’m so excited to finally share this news with the world.Ten years ago, Evan and I set out on a journey to make design accessible to all. Looking back, I’m proud to say we’ve made progress through introducing Figma to designers of all ages, geographies and levels of experience.

Looking ahead, we’re still barely scratching the surface. There’s such an opportunity (and need!) to make design and developer tools more collaborative and accessible. When we started Figma, our stated vision was to “eliminate the gap between imagination and reality.” I believe we can reach this goal substantially faster through our plan to join forces with Adobe and leveraging their legendary team plus decades of expertise.

While this is not the end of the story, it is the closing of a chapter, and I want to thank all the Figmates (past and present), community members and customers who helped us reach this milestone. You bet on us before there was a reason to — before cursors flying across the screen was normal, before design was at the center of the product process and before we knew what we were doing. Milestones are mirrors through which we can see the hard work of many and I am so grateful.

I understand this is a big change, especially for a platform you rely on every day. So I want to elaborate more on our plans for how this acquisition will work operationally and why I believe this is a partnership that will ultimately benefit you and the Figma platform.

1. There is a huge opportunity for us to accelerate the growth and innovation of the Figma platform with access to Adobe’s technology, expertise and resources in the creative space. For example, we will have the opportunity to incorporate their expertise in imaging, photography, illustration, video, 3D and font technology to the Figma platform. Additionally, we will have the opportunity to reimagine what the best creative tools could look like within the Figma technology stack.

2. Adobe is deeply committed to keeping Figma operating autonomously and I will continue to serve as CEO, reporting to David Wadhwani. David is someone I’ve known for a few years now and we have a strong relationship of mutual respect; I’m very excited for us to collaborate with him on how to continue growing Figma’s business. The entire Figma team will report to me. We plan to continue to run Figma the way we have always run Figma — continuing to do what we believe is best for our community, our culture and our business.

My goal is that we look back at this acquisition as an inflection point where Figma started building even faster. Yes, we want to expand into new areas over time, but we also want to continue making Figma Design, FigJam and the Figma community platform even better. One of the trickiest design decisions is when to make a new capability a separate tool vs part of an existing tool. Please know that we have some fun ideas on how to address this issue.

While we have big ambitions on the product side, many other things will remain the same for you. Our Friends of Figma program will continue spreading to new local communities. Recognizing that we are in an unpredictable, inflationary environment, we currently have no plan to change Figma’s pricing. Finally, all of Figma will continue to be free for education. Figma’s education offering was a critical part of our conversations and Adobe is completely aligned on growing the number of designers / developers / creatives in the world.

Like many of you, I grew up using Adobe software and it was a critical part of my personal creative journey. It is an incredible opportunity and honor to help Adobe build the next generation of creative tools. Especially in a time when AI-generated models make us question the role of human creativity, this opportunity is also a huge responsibility. I look forward to the years ahead and continuing to serve this amazing community”.

Combination of Adobe and Figma Will Usher in New Era of Collaborative Creativity – Adobe

Today, Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) announced it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Figma, a leading web-first collaborative design platform, for approximately $20 billion in cash and stock. 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 revolutionising 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.

Figma’s mission is to help teams collaborate visually and make design accessible to all. Founded by Dylan Field and Evan Wallace in 2012, the company pioneered product design on the web. Today, it is making it possible for everyone who designs interactive mobile and web applications to collaborate through multi-player workflows, sophisticated design systems and a rich, extensible developer ecosystem. Figma has attracted a new generation of millions of designers and developers and a loyal student following.

Together, 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.

“Adobe’s greatness has been rooted in our ability to create new categories and deliver cutting-edge technologies through organic innovation and inorganic acquisitions,” said Shantanu Narayen, chairman and CEO, Adobe. “The combination of Adobe and Figma is transformational and will accelerate our vision for collaborative creativity.”

Reimagining the future of creativity and productivity

Adobe and Figma share a passion for helping individuals and teams be more creative and productive. 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.

Accelerating creativity on the web

Creators are currently challenged with making an ever-rising volume of content in close collaboration with an increasing number of stakeholders. The web has become a ubiquitous platform that is making it easier for teams to create together.

Figma’s web-based, multi-player capabilities will accelerate the delivery of Adobe’s Creative Cloud technologies on the web, making the creative process more productive and accessible to more people.

Advancing product design

Digital applications are at the center of our personal and professional lives, creating explosive growth in the product design category. Adobe and Figma will benefit all stakeholders in the product design process, from designers to product managers to developers, by bringing powerful capabilities from Adobe’s imaging, photography, illustration, video, 3D and font technology into the Figma platform.

Inspiring and empowering the designer and developer community

Adobe’s vibrant creative community has been a driving force in inspiring the company’s continuous innovation. Figma has a passionate community who develop and share everything from tutorials to templates to plug-ins with their large and growing ecosystem. The combination of Adobe’s and Figma’s communities will bring designers and developers closer together to unlock the future of collaborative design.

“Figma has built a phenomenal product design platform on the web,” said 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.”

“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,” said Dylan Field, co-founder and CEO, Figma.

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 percent. With gross margins of approximately 90 percent and positive operating cash flows, Figma has built an efficient, high-growth business.

Transaction Details

Under the definitive agreement, Adobe has agreed to acquire Figma for approximately $20 billion, comprised of approximately half cash and half stock, subject to customary adjustments. Approximately 6 million additional restricted stock units will be granted to Figma’s CEO and employees that will vest over four years subsequent to closing. Adobe expects the cash consideration to be financed through cash on hand and, if necessary, a term loan. 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, Dylan Field, Figma’s co-founder and CEO, will continue to lead the Figma team, reporting to David Wadhwani, president of Adobe’s Digital Media business. Until the transaction closes, each company will continue to operate independently.

Conference Call Scheduled for 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time Today

Adobe executives will comment on the acquisition of Figma today during a live conference call as part of Adobe’s quarterly earnings report, which is scheduled to begin at 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time. A live webcast of the conference call can be viewed on Adobe’s investor relations website: www.adobe.com/ADBE. Earnings documents, including Adobe management’s prepared conference call remarks with slides and an investor presentation are posted to Adobe’s investor relations website in advance of the conference call for reference.

Advisors

Allen & Company LLC is serving as financial advisor to Adobe and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is serving as legal advisor in connection with the transaction.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclosure

In addition to historical information, this press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities law, including statements regarding the expected timing, completion and effects of the proposed transaction, product plans, future growth, market opportunities, strategic initiatives, industry positioning, and customer acquisition and retention. In addition, when used in this press release, the words “will,” “expects,” “could,” “would,” “may,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “targets,” “estimates,” “looks for,” “looks to,” “continues” and similar expressions, as well as statements regarding our focus for the future, are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Each of the forward-looking statements we make in this press release involves risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: expected revenues, cost savings, synergies and other benefits from the proposed transaction, such as Adobe’s ability to enhance Creative Cloud by adding Figma’s collaboration-first product design capabilities and the effectiveness of Figma’s technology, might not be realized within the expected time frames or at all and costs or difficulties relating to integration matters, including but not limited to customer and employee retention, might be greater than expected; the requisite regulatory approvals and clearances for the proposed transaction may be delayed or may not be obtained (or may result in the imposition of conditions that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the proposed transaction); the requisite approval of Figma stockholders may be delayed or may not be obtained, the other closing conditions to the transaction may be delayed or may not be obtained, or the merger agreement may be terminated; business disruption may occur following or in connection with the proposed transaction; Adobe’s or Figma’s businesses may experience disruptions due to transaction-related uncertainty or other factors making it more difficult to maintain relationships with employees, customers, other business partners or governmental entities; the possibility that the proposed transaction is more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events; diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities as a result of the proposed transaction or otherwise and those factors discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” in Adobe’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and Adobe’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The risks described in this press release and in Adobe’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) should be carefully reviewed. Undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Adobe and Figma undertake no obligation to publicly release any revisions to the forward- looking statements or reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release, except as required by law.

No Offer or Solicitation

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

In connection with the proposed acquisition of Figma, Adobe will file a registration statement on Form S-4 with the SEC to register the shares of Adobe common stock to be issued in connection with the proposed transaction. The registration statement will include a consent solicitation statement/prospectus, which will be sent to the shareholders of Figma seeking their approval of the proposed transaction.

INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT ON FORM S-4, THE CONSENT SOLICITATION STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS INCLUDED WITHIN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT ON FORM S-4 AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED OR TO BE FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THESE DOCUMENTS DO AND WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT ADOBE, FIGMA AND THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION.

Investors and security holders may obtain copies of these documents, when available, as well as other documents filed by Adobe with the SEC, free of charge from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or by accessing Adobe’s website at https://www.adobe.com/investor-relations.html or by contacting Adobe’s Investor Relations department by calling (408) 536- 4700, by writing to Investor Relations, Adobe Inc., 345 Park Avenue, San Jose, California 95110-2704 or by sending an email to adobe@kpcorp.com.

About Figma

Figma is a design platform for teams who build products together. Born on the web, Figma helps teams brainstorm, design, and build better products— from start to finish. Whether it’s consolidating tools, simplifying workflows, or collaborating across teams and time zones, Figma makes the design process faster, more efficient, and fun while keeping everyone on the same page.

About Adobe

Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

©2022 Adobe. All rights reserved. Adobe, Creative Cloud, Document Cloud and the Adobe logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe (or one of its subsidiaries) in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Investor Relations Contact
Jonathan Vaas
Adobe
ir@adobe.com

Public Relations Contact
Ashley Levine
Adobe
aslevine@adobe.com

Source: Adobe

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