On Thursday, Adobe revealed that it would buy design software company Figma for roughly $20 billion in cash and equity. Adobe’s stock fell 17%, marking the worst decline since 2010.
Figma was established in 2012 and makes cloud-based design software that enables real-time collaborative collaboration. It squares off against Adobe’s XD software.
The company’s previous investment round in 2021 valued it at $10 billion.
This year, Figma is anticipated to produce more than $400 million in annual recurring revenue, according to people familiar with the company’s finances, which include Index Ventures, Greylock Partners, and Kleiner Perkins. Adobe stated that Figma’s ARR will exceed $400 million by the end of 2022.
That means Adobe is paying close to 50 times revenue at a time when cloud software sales multiples are sharply declining from their record highs established last year. The forward multiples for the top cloud companies in the BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index have decreased from over 25 times revenue in February 2021 to just over 9 times revenue now.
The drawing, photography, and video technology components from Adobe’s other products will be incorporated into the Figma platform, according to the company. Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and other software services are available from Adobe for purchase by professionals in the picture and video industries.
“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 Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen. “The combination of Adobe and Figma is transformational and will accelerate our vision for collaborative creativity.”
Dylan Field, co-founder and CEO of Figma, will remain in that position after the transaction is completed. David Wadhwani, president of Adobe’s digital media division, will be his immediate supervisor.
Results for Adobe’s fiscal third quarter were also released. Adjusted earnings per share were $3.40, exceeding the $3.33 per share forecast from Refinitiv. It reported revenue of $4.43 billion, which was in line with analyst estimates.
For the fiscal fourth quarter, the corporation provided erratic guidance. According to StreetAccount, Adobe predicted that their quarterly revenue will be $4.52 billion as opposed to the $4.6 billion consensus expectation. It anticipates beating the StreetAccount prediction of $3.47 per share with adjusted earnings of $3.50 per share.
1 comment
Figma is the market leader in UI design. The takeover was a good move. Better than the continued divorce of Adobe XD.