EU to reach decision on Adobe-Figma deal by August 7

European Union (EU) antitrust regulators have set a deadline of August 7 to determine whether they will approve Adobe’s proposed $20 billion acquisition of cloud-based designer platform Figma, according to a filing by the European Commission on Monday.
Adobe at a trade eventAdobe, the maker of Photoshop, submitted the request for EU approval on Friday, indicating its expectation of a full-scale investigation following the preliminary review.

Earlier this year, the Commission expressed concerns that the deal could have a significant impact on competition in the market for interactive product design and whiteboarding software. Figma’s web-based collaborative platform for designs and brainstorming has gained immense popularity among tech companies, including Zoom Video Communications, Airbnb, and Coinbase.

In a separate development, the competition watchdog in the United Kingdom granted Adobe a one-week window to propose remedies that address its concerns about the deal. Failure to provide satisfactory remedies could result in a deeper investigation by the UK watchdog.