Adobe and Macromedia get go ahead to merge from DOJ

Two companies become one

14 October 2005 14:04 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Adobe and Macromedia today announced they have received clearance from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) for Adobe's proposed acquisition of Macromedia. The closing of the transaction remains subject to regulatory approval in a few European jurisdictions.

The merger will create one of the biggest design software companies and mean that users will have little choice when it comes to designing on paper and translating that to the web.

Adobe currently holds a large market share with in the desktop publishing market with InDesign 2.0 and the photo manipulation arena with Photoshop CS 2. Macromedia has the same credentials within the web publishing sector with its Dreamweaver and Fireworks packages.

While the joined companies will mean greater connectivity and an easier passage from paper to the web, it has raised concerns as to who will be big enough to challenge such as large company in the future.

On April 18, 2005, Adobe announced a definitive agreement to acquire Macromedia in an all-stock transaction. Pursuant to the terms of the acquisition agreement, holders of Macromedia common stock will receive 1.38 shares of Adobe common stock for each share of Macromedia common stock they own at the closing of the acquisition. In August, the stockholders of each company voted in favour of the transaction.

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Biz, Mergers, Macromedia, Adobe, Software, Mobile phones, Zune