Adobe agrees to buy Lehi's Workfront for $1.5 billion

Adobe, the Silicon Valley-based multimedia and creativity software company, has announced an agreement to acquire Lehi’s work management platform Workfront. Adobe will pay a reported $1.5 billion for the 2001 startup.

With more than 3,000 customers and 1 million users, Workfront is a solution that marketers use to manage content, plan and track marketing campaigns and execute complex workflows across teams.

Adobe’s solutions are the gold standard for applications that are mission-critical to marketers, creatives, analysts and now, operations managers. The company’s flagship, Adobe Creative Cloud, provides creative apps and services for students, social media influencers, professional photographers, filmmakers and designers.

“Satisfying the increasing expectations of B2B and B2C customers today requires large volumes of content and personalized marketing campaigns delivered at lightning speed and scale,” Adobe said in a release announcing the acquisition. “This must be accomplished across increasingly dispersed teams, as remote work becomes prevalent in today’s environment and the future of work is redefined. The combination of Adobe Experience Cloud and Workfront will bring efficiency, collaboration and productivity gains to marketing teams currently challenged with siloed work management solutions.”

Adobe and Workfront are longstanding partners with product synergies and a growing base of over 1,000 shared customers. Shared Adobe and Workfront customers include Deloitte, Under Armour, Nordstrom, Prudential Financial, T-Mobile and The Home Depot.

“Adobe is the undisputed leader in content creation, management, delivery and measurement and a trusted partner to digital leaders around the globe,” said Anil Chakravarthy, executive vice president and general manager of digital experience business and worldwide field operations at Adobe. “The combination of Adobe and Workfront will further accelerate Adobe’s leadership in customer experience management, providing a pioneering solution that spans the entire lifecycle of digital experiences, from ideation to activation.”

“Adobe and Workfront share a common affinity to help the modern marketer thrive in an ever-evolving, increasingly demanding setting,” said Alex Shootman, CEO of Workfront. “We’re excited to join Adobe and believe this will be a tremendous opportunity for our customers and partners.”

When the deal closes, Workfront CEO Alex Shootman will continue to lead the Workfront team, reporting to Chakravarthy.

The transaction, which is expected to close during the first quarter of Adobe’s 2021 fiscal year, is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Until the transaction closes, each company will continue to operate independently.