Deal Timeline

Plotted by close date where disclosed, otherwise announcement. Select any marker to jump to the deal entry.

The Rationale That Repeats.

Three patterns show up across Adobe's deal book — what the team buys, how it pays, and how it integrates. The patterns are the throughline; the deals below are the evidence.

01
Acquisition criteria
Adobe uses acquisitions to open and then dominate entirely new software categories.
The 2009 Omniture deal launched what became a multibillion-dollar digital marketing and analytics business, while Macromedia (2005) brought Flash and web authoring into the creative portfolio and Marketo (2018) plus Magento (2018) established Adobe's B2B marketing and commerce franchises inside Adobe Experience Cloud.
MacromediaOmnitureDay Software Holding AGEfficient FrontierNeolane
02
Capital deployment
Deals cluster into two strategic buckets that mirror Adobe's reporting segments,...
Deals cluster into two strategic buckets that mirror Adobe's reporting segments, Digital Media and Digital Experience. Creative and content targets such as Macromedia, Fotolia, Behance, Allegorithmic, and Frame.io fold into Digital Media and Creative Cloud, while marketing, advertising, and commerce targets such as Omniture, Efficient Frontier, Neolane, TubeMogul, Marketo, Magento, and Workfront build out the Digital Experience segment.
MacromediaOmnitureDay Software Holding AGEfficient FrontierNeolane
03
Integration approach
Adobe's largest ambitions have run into regulatory limits.
The company agreed to acquire Figma for roughly $20 billion in 2022, its biggest deal ever, but mutually terminated the merger in December 2023 after concluding there was no clear path to approval from the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority.
MacromediaOmnitureDay Software Holding AGEfficient FrontierNeolane

The Full Deal Book

14 acquisitions. Each entry carries the deal value, financing structure, target revenue, executive commentary, and the original SEC filing — the evidence behind the patterns above.

01 Macromedia, Inc. $3.4B
Announced Apr 2005 Closed Dec 2005 all stock
Flash technologyweb and application authoringrich interactive contentmultimedia developmentmobile content delivery

Macromedia was a San Francisco based software company best known for Flash, Dreamweaver, and web and multimedia authoring tools. Its technology extended Adobe's reach into rich interactive content, web development, and mobile and enterprise delivery platforms. approximately $3.4 billion.

Customers are calling for integrated software solutions that enable them to create, manage and deliver a wide range of compelling content and applications, from documents and images to audio and video.Bruce Chizen — Chief Executive Officer, Adobe Systems Incorporated
02 Omniture, Inc. $1.8B
Announced Sep 2009 Closed Oct 2009 all cash
web analyticsmarketing measurementcontent and campaign optimizationaudience and advertising analytics

Omniture was an Orem, Utah based company that provided web analytics, measurement, and optimization technologies used by advertisers, media companies, and online retailers. The acquisition, valued at approximately $1.8 billion on a fully diluted equity-value basis, was structured as a cash tender offer at $21.50 per share. approximately $1.8 billion (tender offer of $21.50 per share in cash).

Adobe customers are looking to us for solutions to deliver engaging experiences and more effectively monetize their content and applications online.Shantanu Narayen — President and Chief Executive Officer, Adobe Systems Incorporated
03 Day Software Holding AG $248.3M
Closed Oct 2010 all cash
web content management (WCM)digital asset managementsocial collaborationenterprise content management

Day Software Holding AG was a leading provider of web content management, digital asset management, and social collaboration software. Adobe completed a public tender offer to acquire all publicly held registered shares of Day for 139 Swiss Francs per share in cash, a transaction valued at approximately $248.3 million on a fully diluted equity-value basis. approximately $248.3 million (tender offer of 139 Swiss Francs per share in cash).

04 Efficient Frontier $374.7M
Closed Jan 2012
searchdisplayand social ad buyingportfolio and rules-based ad managementcampaign forecastingcross-channel optimization

Efficient Frontier was a multi-channel digital ad buying and optimization company acquired in the first quarter of fiscal 2012. Adobe later rebranded it as Adobe AdLens, part of the Adobe Media Optimizer solution.

05 Neolane $616.7M
Closed Jan 2013
cross-channel campaign managementmarketing automationorchestrated customer journeys

Neolane was a privately held leader in cross-channel campaign management technology, acquired during fiscal 2013 for $616.7 million. It became Adobe Campaign, one of the core solutions in the Adobe Marketing Cloud.

06 Behance $111.1M
Closed Jan 2013
creative portfolio hostingsocial networking for designerswork discovery and publishing

Behance was an online social media platform used to showcase and discover creative work, acquired during fiscal 2013 for $111.1 million. It was integrated into Adobe's Digital Media segment and became a community for creative professionals within Creative Cloud.

07 Fotolia $807.5M
Closed Jan 2015
royalty-free stock imagery marketplacemicrostock contentstock video and graphics

Fotolia was a leading marketplace for royalty-free photos, images, graphics, and HD videos, acquired during fiscal 2015 for $807.5 million. It was integrated into Adobe's Digital Media segment and became a foundation of the Adobe Stock offering.

08 TubeMogul, Inc. $549M
Closed Dec 2016 all cash
programmatic video advertisingreal-time biddingautomated ad optimizationaudience targetingcross-inventory ad buying

TubeMogul was a publicly held video advertising platform company acquired in December 2016. Its platform lets advertisers plan, buy, measure, and optimize global advertising spend from a single platform using proprietary programmatic technologies including real-time bidding, automated optimization, and advanced audience targeting. approximately $549 million in cash, plus the assumption of certain employee equity awards.

09 Magento Commerce $1.64B
Closed Jun 2018
digital commerceorder management and orchestrationpredictive commerce intelligencescalable shopping experiences

Magento was a privately held commerce platform company acquired on June 18, 2018 for approximately $1.64 billion. It offers digital commerce enablement and order orchestration for physical and digital goods across industries, from mid-market to enterprise businesses.

10 Marketo, Inc. $4.75B
Announced Sep 2018 Closed Oct 2018 all cash
B2B marketing engagementlead managementaccount-based marketingrevenue attributioncross-channel marketing orchestration

Marketo was the market-leading cloud platform for B2B marketing engagement, with nearly 5,000 customers, acquired for $4.75 billion subject to customary purchase price adjustments. It brought planning, engagement, and measurement into an integrated B2B marketing platform. $4.75 billion (disclosed as approximately $4.74 billion in Adobe's fiscal 2018 10-K).

The acquisition of Marketo widens Adobe's lead in customer experience across B2C and B2B and puts Adobe Experience Cloud at the heart of all marketing.Brad Rencher — Executive Vice President and General Manager, Digital Experience, Adobe
11 Allegorithmic SAS $106.2M
Closed Jan 2019 all cash
3D texturingmaterials authoringreal-time 3D paintingtools for gaming and entertainment content

Allegorithmic was a privately held 3D editing and authoring software company for gaming and entertainment, acquired on January 23, 2019. Its Substance suite (Substance Painter, Substance Source, Substance Alchemist, and Substance Designer) enables 3D texturing and materials authoring. approximately $106.2 million in cash.

12 Workfront, Inc. $1.52B
Closed Dec 2020 all cash
marketing work managementproject and workflow orchestrationcollaborationresource planning

Workfront was a privately held company providing a work management platform, acquired in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 for approximately $1.52 billion in cash. It was integrated into Adobe's Digital Experience segment.

13 Frame.io, Inc. $1.18B
Closed Oct 2021
cloud-based video collaborationreview and approval workflowscreative asset sharingintegration with Premiere Pro and After Effects

Frame.io was a privately held company that provides a cloud-based video collaboration platform, acquired on October 7, 2021 for approximately $1.18 billion. It was integrated into Adobe's Digital Media segment and Creative Cloud.

14 Figma, Inc. (terminated) $20B
Announced Sep 2022 Closed Sep 2022 combination of cash and stock
web-first collaborative product designreal-time multiplayer designprototypingdesign systems

Figma is a web-first collaborative design platform founded by Dylan Field and Evan Wallace in 2012 that pioneered product design on the web. Adobe entered into a definitive merger agreement in September 2022 to acquire Figma for approximately $20 billion in cash and stock, but the companies mutually terminated the agreement in December 2023 after concluding there was no clear path to regulatory approval in Europe and the UK. approximately $20 billion in cash and stock (agreement terminated in December 2023; deal did not close).

Adobe and Figma strongly disagree with the recent regulatory findings, but we believe it is in our respective best interests to move forward independently.Shantanu Narayen — Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Adobe (December 2023 termination announcement)

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