American multinational computer software company, Adobe, has announced that moves are on the way to its acquisition of design platform, Figma.

Following rumours that sparked all over the internet on Thursday, Adobe released a publication on its official blog, confirming the news of Figma acquisition.

According to Adobe, the cash-and-stock deal is worth $20 billion, and will give Adobe ownership of Figma – whose web-based collaborative platform for designs and brainstorming is widely popular among graphics designers.

“Adobe has agreed to acquire Figma for approximately $20 billion, comprised of approximately half cash and half stock, subject to customary adjustments,” the company said.

Adobe, a company that provides a range of software services for photo and video professionals, like Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and more, said it will integrate some of the features from its other products, such as illustration, photography and video technology, into Figma’s platform.

“Adobe’s greatness has been rooted in our ability to create new categories and deliver cutting-edge technologies through organic innovation and inorganic acquisitions. […] The combination of Adobe and Figma is transformational and will accelerate our vision for collaborative creativity,” Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, said.

“With Adobe’s amazing innovation and expertise, especially in 3D, video, vector, imaging and fonts, we can further reimagine end-to-end product design in the browser, while building new tools and spaces to empower customers to design products faster and more easily,” Dylan Field, co-founder and CEO, Figma, added.

The transaction is expected to close in 2023, subject to the receipt of required regulatory clearances and approvals and the satisfaction of other closing conditions, including the approval of Figma’s stockholders. After the acquisition has been finalized, Figma CEO, David Field, will continue to lead the Figma team, and report to the president of Adobe’s Digital Media business, David Wadhwani.

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Adobe is one of the companies in Silicon Valley with the highest number of acquisitions. In a move to defend market shares against competitors, Adobe has bought numerous businesses over the years.

Figma was founded in 2012 by Dylan Field and Evan Wallace while they were both students at Brown University. Figma provides a web-based application for graphical user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design, and has been a major competition for Adobe XD products. Figma also has an offline feature activated on its desktop software. It has its initial release in 2016, and has since been one of the useful tools for graphics designers.