The next time you’re feeling sad about a breakup, just be glad you don’t have to pay a fee for ending the relationship—like Adobe.

The software giant’s planned $20 billion acquisition of the design tool Figma officially fell apart yesterday amid mounting pressure from competition regulators, putting the kibosh on what would have been one of the largest private software takeovers in history. While the two companies mutually decided to cancel their deal, Adobe now has to pay its almost-subsidiary a $1 billion cash termination fee.

Rewind: In September 2022, Adobe agreed to buy Figma—a fast-growing rival to some of Adobe’s tools that’s used by Big Tech firms, including Uber, Zoom, and Google—for roughly double its value.

Since then, EU and UK antitrust investigators said that the acquisition would harm customers and stifle innovation in product-design software by eliminating competition between two leaders in the space. Regulators suggested the software companies sell off competing products to save the deal, but the CEO of Figma said his company and Adobe “no longer see a path toward regulatory approval.”

It’s a tough time to be in Mergers & Acquisitions

The Adobe x Figma breakup is one of many recent acquisition attempts that have landed in the regulation hot seat in what appears to be an era of heightened antitrust enforcement in both the US and Europe, especially in tech:

• Meta finally sold off Giphy in May after UK regulators blocked the acquisition two years ago.
• On Sunday, the American biotech company Illumina agreed to sell off its cancer diagnostic test-maker, Grail, after losing a court battle with the Federal Trade Commission (which is challenging mergers at a record pace under Biden).

Zoom out: Some analysts worry that antitrust crackdowns will dampen opportunities for dealmaking, but for now, the sun is still shining—companies announced more than $40 billion in proposed M&As yesterday, more than quadruple the value announced on the last Monday before Christmas in 2022.—ML

Ever tried to level up your money game when you’re dealing with debt? It’s like running a marathon where the finish line keeps getting moved a few miles ahead. Talk about discouraging.

But you don’t have to go it alone. Say hello to your interest-crushing ally: this balance-transfer credit card. The team at The Ascent gave it five stars, and it’s easy to see why—this bad boy comes with:

• 0% intro APR for 18 months on balance transfers
• up to 5% cash back

Say you’ve got $10,000 in debt. You can potentially save $1,863 in interest charges using this card’s 0% intro APR offer.

Leave debt in the dust.

US Steel is turning Japanese in a $14.1 billion deal. US Steel, once the world’s largest company and a symbol of US manufacturing might that counts J.P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie among its founders, has agreed to be bought by Japan’s Nippon Steel. The deal ends months of speculation over the 122-year-old steel company’s fate after it rebuffed a $7.3 billion offer from domestic rival Cleveland-Cliffs over the summer. Assuming regulators and US Steel’s shareholders sign off on the purchase, it would make Nippon the second-biggest steel company globally and give it a major presence in the US market, which uses a lot of steel, especially to make cars.

Nikola founder gets four years for fraud. Trevor Milton was sentenced to four years in prison yesterday after having been found guilty of defrauding investors in the electric vehicle company he founded. While that’s less than the Elizabeth Holmes-level, 11-year sentence prosecutors had pushed for, it’s more than the probation he requested. Nikola was briefly the third-most-valuable vehicle company in the US, but its value plunged when a short seller accused the company of lying about its tech. Prosecutors agreed and claimed Milton fibbed about the company’s progress, including in an infamous video that purported to show one of its trucks operational and moving when it was really just rolled down a hill.

The pope says priests can bless same-sex couples. In a major shift for the Roman Catholic Church, the Vatican handed down new rules yesterday allowing priests to give blessings to same-sex couples—but stressed that this blessing could not resemble a wedding. Although the church did not change its position on marriage, the new guidelines do effectively overturn a 2021 decision that prohibited any blessings for gay couples. It’s the latest sign of Pope Francis softening the church’s stance toward LGBTQ people, which has drawn backlash from more conservative clergy.

British Petroleum became the latest company to pause shipping via the Red Sea yesterday, citing the violent threat of Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. At least nine other carriers, including the Danish cargo giant Maersk, have recently said they’ll temporarily steer clear of the treacherous waters.

The Houthi militants have been attacking commercial vessels passing through the southern part of the sea ever since the Israel–Hamas war erupted in October. It’s creating a global issue: The Red Sea flows into the Suez Canal, the fastest maritime link between Europe and Asia, which about 12% of world trade passes through.

Danger vs. efficiency

Many shipping companies have decided to sacrifice speed for safety by sailing around the southern tip of Africa instead.

While Houthi attacks have already made moving cargo pricier, maritime journalist John Konrad pointed out that rerouting energy shipments is likely to cause even bigger headaches since there are fewer spare oil tankers than container ships, and they don’t have the ability to win back significant ETA by speeding up.

Though most oil carriers aren’t rerouting, oil futures prices went up 1.6% yesterday, along with a rise in the cost of insuring ships against the perils of Red Sea voyages.

Ships will soon get more bodyguards: The US, multiple European countries, Bahrain, and several others have agreed to vastly expand the international naval force that already patrols the Red Sea. The US also moved the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier near Yemen’s coast as it reportedly considers launching a strike at Houthi positions.—SK

Apple is accepting a slap on the wrist. The company will halt sales of its Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches in the US due to a pending import ban stemming from a patent dispute with medical tech company Masimo over a sensor that measures blood oxygen saturation.

Apple announced it would preemptively pull the watches from its online store on Thursday and physical locations on Dec. 24 to comply with an order from the International Trade Commission (ITC) barring the import of the watch models after it found them to violate Masimo’s IP.

While the outlook is bleak, Apple can still hope for a Christmas miracle.

• The Biden administration has until Dec. 25 to overturn the ITC ruling. But history shows that’s unlikely; the last time a president vetoed an ITC decision was in 2013, when Barack Obama overturned an Apple import ban from a patent dispute with Samsung.

Another hit to the bottom line: Apple, already coming off four straight quarters of declining sales for the first time since 2001, cautioned investors in November that holiday sales were expected to be sluggish and specifically cited an expected drop in sales from its wearables category. Still, Apple is working on possible technical and legal workarounds to protect its $17 billion watch business, according to Bloomberg.—DL

Stat: Is gearing up for holiday travel giving you unpleasant flashbacks to last year when Southwest canceled almost 17,000 flights, leaving more than 2 million people stuck (some at their in-laws’ house!)? You haven’t been forgotten—the Department of Transportation just slapped Southwest with its largest consumer protection fine ever over the meltdown. The fine is $140 million, with $35 million going to the government and the rest covering perks that went to passengers affected by the 2022 snafu or for travelers facing future delays and cancellations. And the DOT means business: The Southwest penalty is ~30x the next largest fine an airline has paid for such violations.

Quote: “Blue Origin needs to be much faster.”

Jeff Bezos said that in a recent interview, but the former CEO didn’t get his wish, because yesterday, Blue Origin had to scrub its first planned rocket launch in more than 15 months at the last moment due to what it described as “a ground system issue.” Even after it gets its rocket off the ground again, Blue Origin has some catching up to do: The company employs the same number of people as Elon Musk’s SpaceX (11,000), but it has launched zero rockets this year, while SpaceX has sent almost 100 rockets and thousands of satellites into space over the same period, per Ars Technica.

Read: All the articles Bloomberg’s editors wish they had written this year. (Bloomberg)

Have a good cry: This site claims a weekly tear session is good for your mental health and provides the lachrymose videos to make it happen.

Decide what to eat: A tuna melt, brownies, and tender meatballs all made this list of the year’s most popular recipes.

Watch: The sitdown between Cameo star and ex-congressman George Santos and interviewer Ziwe is worth viewing, even if you’re not very online or very political.

Let it snow: This map shows your probability of a white Christmas based on past satellite data.

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Small microchip, big potential: This startup’s microchip fits on the head of a pin—and it could change the way pain is diagnosed and treated. Learn more in our latest video.*

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