Adobe + Figma: Match Made In Heaven, Process Made In Hell

News came out today that after over a year of regulatory review, the $20 billion Adobe + Figma acquisition is not going to happen.

It would have been a great outcome for both companies.

But, alas…

The Adobe + Figma deal was a match made in heaven…with a process made in hell.

I don’t have a lot of experience with M&A, but HubSpot did recently complete its acquisition of Clearbit recently, so it’s been on my mind.

M&A is already really, really hard to get right.

• You need to find a company that makes sense strategically.

• That company has to be at a point in their development where they will entertain an offer.

• You have to find a set of terms that are agreeable to both sides — which often itself is a moving target when there’s volatility like we’ve seen in the markets overall.

• You need to invest in integration of the new team/products. (This is where a lot of M&A fails).

In the Adobe and Figma example, it seems that:

M&A is not just hard to get right…it’s hard to get done. 

My guess is that this is going to have second-order effects for high-growth, venture-backed startups. Seems that large tech companies are going to have a harder time getting deals through in the current climate. This means fewer exit options for startups. Not that every startup needs to get acquired — but it does make sense for some. And whether that’s the plan or not, it’s good to have the option.