Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen Defends Figma Acquisition Deal

Adobe’s CEO Shantanu Narayen told CNBC in a recent interview that acquiring Figma, a design software company, would be good for customers, even though regulators are worried that it might reduce competition.

Narayen said, “We want to combine what Figma has created with web-based software that enables collaboration and creativity, and what Adobe has accomplished in our creative, and make it more accessible for everyone. We see it as a compliment, we are confident in our case, but the regulatory situation is tough.”

Figma, which started in 2012, lets users work together on app and website design. Adobe said it wanted to buy the company in September 2022 for about $20 billion.

U.K. regulators said in late November that the deal could damage the digital design industry in the country. The U.S. Justice Department is also trying to stop the deal, according to CNBC.

Adobe announced its quarterly earnings on Wednesday and did better than what Wall Street expected. But the company gave a lower-than-expected prediction for 2024, which made the stock go down almost 5% after the market closed.

Narayen said, “We are very serious about our guidance.” He said, “We have a lot of growth in our business related to digital media ARR, we are giving the highest number we have ever given at the start of the year.” ARR means annual recurring revenue.