Microsoft may purchase Adobe to counter Apple

The latest news reaching KitGuru is that Microsoft may be preparing a bid to take over Adobe with the primary focus to counter Apple's success in the mobile market.

Adobe leader Shantanu Narayen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer have already met in person to discuss ways of dealing with Apple's dominance, a point verified by the New York Times. Apparently the latest information suggests a company takeover.

Apple have been very against Adobe Flash technology refusing to support it with any of their mobile devices claiming that it destroys battery life and ruins the overall experience for users. Apple also recently surpassed Microsoft in company value.

A potential takeover with Microsoft buying Adobe is particularly interesting because they have not been on the best of terms in the past. Microsoft for instance have a rival to Flash with their own Silverlight software and analysts suggest that they are putting past differences behind them to deal with the bigger enemy.

“It may be a case of ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend' and both Microsoft and Adobe have a common enemy in Apple,” Morningstar analyst Toan Tran told Reuters. “The Flash platform in Microsoft's hands might be an interesting competitive weapon against Apple.”

Adobe are worth around $15 billion, which is a figure that Microsoft can afford. Steve Ballmer has already said that Microsoft will make a $26 billion pre tax profit this year.

The Microsoft board are not that happy with Ballmer lately however, especially as Microsoft are lagging in the mobile sector a point which meant he only got half of his maximum performance bonus.

KitGuru says: Neither company has confirmed a takeover bid, but we think this may very well go ahead in the near future. Apple are causing issues for many of the major players and it makes sense to combine forces.

Become a Patron!