Introduction 

“Adobe to Acquire Magento Commerce” was the straightforward headline of the press release that popped up in my news alert. Just five simple words. And yet, their impact could be tremendous. An impact that will be felt differently, depending on your role and relationship with these two software companies.

To be clear, the announcement was not all that surprising, most folks in the space anticipated that Adobe would need to follow the likes of Oracle and Salesforce and add commerce to their offering. Especially after missing out on acquiring hybris and Demandware, where they were bested by SAP and Salesforce, respectively. It’s the timing and terms – $1.68 billion in cash – that surprised many. Even for a behemoth like Adobe that’s real scratch. But, don’t worry yourself; Adobe execs won’t be going hungry. The company announced an $8 billion stock buyback the same day.