Adobe to acquire Semrush in $1.9bn deal

February 2026 | DEALFRONT | MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Financier Worldwide Magazine

February 2026 Issue

In a move that expands its artificial intelligence (AI) marketing capabilities, US software company Adobe has agreed to acquire brand visibility platform Semrush Holdings, Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at about $1.9bn.

Under the definitive agreement, Adobe will pay $12 per share, representing a premium of roughly 77.5 percent over Semrush’s last closing price before the announcement.

Adobe plans to fold Semrush into its Digital Experience business, alongside Adobe Experience Manager and Adobe Analytics, and to connect it to the recently introduced Adobe Brand Concierge. The company says this combination will help marketers understand how their brands appear across owned channels, large language models, traditional search and the wider web.

As generative AI becomes a new interface between customers and brands, marketers are beginning to treat generative engine optimisation (GEO) as a complement to search engine optimisation (SEO).

“Brand visibility is being reshaped by gen AI, and brands that do not embrace this new opportunity risk losing relevance and revenue,” said Anil Chakravarthy, president of Adobe’s Digital Experience Business. “With Semrush, we are unlocking GEO for marketers as a new growth channel alongside their SEO, driving more visibility, customer engagement and conversions across the ecosystem.”

The two boards have approved the transaction. Adobe has also secured voting commitments from Semrush’s founders and other shareholders representing more than 75 percent of Semrush’s voting power to support the deal.

A Semrush shareholder meeting to vote on the merger has been scheduled for 3 February 2026. If approved and regulatory clearances are obtained, closing is expected in the first half of 2026.

Semrush’s platform is widely used for SEO, competitive research and online visibility tracking. In its most recent quarter, the company reported enterprise annual recurring revenue growth of 33 percent year on year, and it counts Amazon, JPMorgan Chase and TikTok among its customers.

“Adobe is an industry leader in helping marketers create personalised customer experiences at scale,” said Bill Wagner, chief executive of Semrush. “With the advent of LLMs and AI-driven search, brands need to understand where and how their customers are engaging in these new channels.”

Adobe says most Fortune 100 companies rely on its software to apply AI within their workflows, naming The Coca-Cola Company, General Motors and IBM among customers. It argues that integrating Semrush’s GEO and SEO capabilities will provide marketers with a single view of brand visibility across search, LLMs and owned channels.

Regulatory assessment will include review under the US Hart-Scott-Rodino process and scrutiny in other jurisdictions, including the UK and EU, given Adobe’s scale in digital experience software. Both parties said the merger remains subject to customary conditions. Adobe abandoned a proposed Figma acquisition in 2023 following regulatory opposition, which makes the timetable for this transaction a focus for investors.

Adobe has positioned Brand Concierge at the centre of its agentic AI strategy, describing it as an application that turns brand content into conversational experiences across digital touchpoints. The company has pointed to Adobe Analytics data showing a sharp rise in traffic to US retail sites from generative AI sources, underscoring why discoverability beyond traditional search is now a priority.

Cash consideration will be funded from Adobe’s balance sheet and operating cash flow.

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is acting as legal adviser to Adobe. Centerview Partners LLC is serving as exclusive financial adviser to Semrush, and Davis Polk & Wardwell is its legal adviser.

Mr Wagner concluded: “The combination of Adobe and Semrush provides marketers more insights and capabilities to increase their discoverability across today’s evolving digital landscape.”

Fraser Tennant