Adobe Announces $1.9 Billion Agreement to Acquire Semrush
Adobe will acquire Semrush in a $1.9B all-cash deal, expanding its Experience Cloud with leading SEO and AI-driven visibility tools. The acquisition brings Semrush’s search, GEO, and competitive intelligence capabilities into Adobe’s marketing stack.
Adobe has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Semrush in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $1.9 billion, the companies announced today. Adobe will pay $12.00 per share, positioning the acquisition as a major expansion of its Digital Experience business. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026, pending regulatory review and approval from Semrush shareholders.
A Strategic Move Into Search and AI Visibility
Semrush, headquartered in Boston, is a widely used SaaS platform in the search marketing sector. Its tools support keyword research, competitive analysis, site auditing, and online visibility measurement. In recent years, the company has expanded into enterprise solutions focused on AI-driven brand visibility, including products that track how companies appear in the outputs of large language models such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini.
The acquisition brings that technology into Adobe’s Experience Cloud, giving Adobe a prominent foothold in the SEO and search visibility workflow used by many brands, agencies, and in-house marketing teams.
Semrush itself has been an active acquirer, purchasing assets such as Backlinko, Traffic Think Tank, and Third Door Media, the parent company of Search Engine Land and MarTech.
Expanding Adobe’s AI Marketing Stack
Adobe framed the deal as part of a broader strategy to address “brand visibility” in an era shaped by generative and agentic AI systems.
Anil Chakravarthy, president of Adobe’s Digital Experience business, said in the announcement that generative AI is reshaping how consumers encounter brands:
“Brand visibility is being reshaped by generative AI, and brands that don’t embrace this new opportunity risk losing relevance and revenue.”
Semrush has leaned heavily into that narrative, promoting Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) as a complement to traditional SEO—focusing on maintaining visibility in AI-generated answers as search experience changes.
Adobe plans to integrate Semrush with Adobe Experience Manager, Adobe Analytics, and its recently launched Brand Concierge product.
Deal Terms and Regulatory Path
The $12.00 per-share offer represents a premium of roughly 77% compared to Semrush’s previous closing price. Following the announcement, Semrush stock surged more than 70% in early trading.
According to an SEC filing, the merger agreement was signed November 18, and both companies’ boards have approved the deal. Semrush will continue operating independently until the acquisition is finalized.
Regulatory review is expected to be a central factor in the closing timeline, particularly given Adobe’s history with large-scale acquisitions in digital experience and creative software markets.
Implications for Marketers
If approved, the acquisition would extend a growing trend in digital marketing: core search visibility tools becoming part of larger enterprise suites. For existing Semrush customers, this raises several operational questions:
- Pricing and packaging: How Semrush will be bundled into Adobe’s enterprise offerings remains unclear.
- Access for smaller teams: It is not yet known whether Semrush will continue to function as a standalone product for agencies and SMEs.
- Media assets: Adobe has not addressed how it intends to handle Semrush-owned media properties, including Search Engine Land and other publications.
For now, both companies describe the deal as a way to unify brand visibility measurement across traditional search engines and emerging AI-generated results, without immediate product changes.
What to Watch
Over the coming year, two developments will shape the future of the acquisition:
- Regulatory scrutiny: Antitrust and competition reviews may influence the closing date and any required concessions.
- Product integration decisions: Adobe will need to determine how deeply Semrush’s technology is integrated into Experience Cloud versus maintained as a standalone product. Those choices could impact API access, reporting tools, and licensing models.
As AI-driven search continues to evolve, the acquisition positions Adobe to compete more directly in visibility and performance analytics—an area increasingly central to digital marketing strategy.
