(Reuters) – Britain’s competition regulator, on Wednesday, extended by eight weeks the deadline to complete its in-depth probe into Photoshop owner Adobe Inc’s $20 billion buyout of cloud-based designer platform Figma, to February 2024.
In July, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an in-depth, or phase two, investigation into the deal after Adobe said it would not offer any concessions to ease the regulator’s concerns.
The CMA now has until Feb. 25 to conclude its investigation, compared to the earlier deadline of Dec. 27. The probe is being conducted by an inquiry group selected from independent experts.
The CMA said the companies have made a number of detailed arguments related to its concerns around competition in product developments between the firms, their growth strategies, and how it would impact their ability to expand into new markets.
In September 2022, Adobe announced a cash-and-stock deal for Figma, the biggest buyout of a privately owned software startup.
Figma’s web-based collaborative platform for designs and brainstorming is widely popular among tech-based companies, including Zoom Video Communications, Airbnb Inc, and Coinbase.
(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Savio D’Souza)
