Figma, a cloud-based design platform, announced on Thursday that it is finalizing a deal allowing employees and early investors to sell their stakes to new and existing investors at a valuation of $12.5 billion.
Figma, whose free online tool is used to create, share, and test designs for websites, mobile apps, and other digital products, has been looking for ways to enable employees to cash out on their stock options and restricted stock units after a $20 billion cash-and-stock acquisition deal with Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) collapsed.
Widely seen as a strong candidate for an IPO, Figma faced antitrust blocks from European and British regulators in December, preventing what would have been one of the largest software startup acquisitions.
New investors, including Fidelity (NYSE:FIS) and Franklin Venture Partners (NYSE:BEN), along with existing investors such as Sequoia and a16z, are expected to acquire stakes totaling about $600 million to $900 million in this secondary sale. Figma was last valued at $10 billion in a private funding round in 2021.
Founded by tech executive Dylan Field in 2012, Figma is cash flow positive and has expanded its offerings to include a broader platform for team collaboration with artificial intelligence features.
In January, Figma offered more equity to employees at a $10 billion valuation. Employees who decided to leave the company by January 31 were entitled to three months’ pay in cash, with all their equity vested regardless of their tenure with the company.
Featured Image: Freepik
