Even without Adobe, things don’t look too bad for Figma

Now that Adobe is no longer part of the picture, how Figma sailed through this period of uncertainty suggests it will come out of this saga relatively unscathed.
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A failed acquisition often spells doom for the target company. But despite its $20 billion takeover by Adobe not going through, there are reasons to think that Figma will be just fine.

That the online design company will get a $1 billion termination fee from Adobe will help soften the blow. But it is not the windfall some think it is; spending more than a year in regulatory limbo always takes a toll on a company and its team.

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While M&As can be long and taxing for both parties, breakup fees aren’t the norm. So, “no, startups, you’re not getting a breakup fee unless it’s a sizable enough deal where there is antitrust risk,” VC Ed Sim wrote on X. And in most cases, regulators are unlikely to get involved.

But in the Adobe-Figma deal, where both companies knew that this risk was front and center, even a $1 billion fee seems only fair compared to the uncertainty ahead.

 


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