FTC OKs Adobe-Omniture Combine

Adobe Systems (ADBE) yesterday announced the termination of the legal waiting period mandatory under the amended Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. The expiry of the waiting period was announced by the FTC in one of its customary listings of approved deals.
 
The approval is with respect to Adobe’s proposed acquisition of Omniture Inc. (OMTR) announced on Sept 15. On Sept 24, Adobe formally offered to buy Omniture through its wholly owned subsidiary, Snowbird Acquisition Corp. for $1.8 billion in cash.
 
Adobe’s financial advisor is Goldman Sachs Group (GS) while Omniture’s is Morgan Stanley (MS).
 
The grant of regulatory approval means that the two companies may now go ahead with the procedures necessary to close the deal. Omniture shareholders have until Oct 22 to approve the takeover, unless Adobe decides to extend the period.
 
Post acquisition, Omniture will operate as a separate business unit. The acquisition is expected to add Omniture’s scalable software as service (SAS) platform to Adobe’s portfolio, improving its growth potential and enabling it to diversify its business into the Internet advertising, e-commerce and digital media markets. It will also strengthen its competitive position versus rivals such as Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Apple Inc. (AAPL).
 
The Omniture software enables analysis of consumers’ website usage habits, thus facilitating the targeting of advertisements. Omniture is a leader in this space, competing with the likes of Google (GOOG) as well as several other smaller players.
 
For Omniture, it’s a question of scale, as Adobe’s operations are across broader geographies and markets.

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