Adobe to buy Semrush for $1.9 billion

Adobe said Wednesday it has agreed to acquire a search engine optimization company Semrush for about $1.9 billion in cash as the Photoshop maker looks to expand its marketing offering.

In a statement, Adobe said said it would offer $12 per share for Semrush, almost double its closing price of $6.89 on Tuesday, before news of the deal. Semrush had a market capitalization of about $1 billion as of Tuesday’s close.

By acquiring Semrush, Adobe is betting that companies will choose to invest in optimizing their content and web pages to be more visible to AI tools, as people increasingly use AI chatbots, agents, and AI browsers to do everything from getting news and finding recipes to shopping and booking their trips. This is a new big market for existing search engine optimization players like Semrush, especially as this change in consumer behavior is driving more and more traffic to websites through generative AI tools.

According to Adobe Analytics, traffic to retail websites from generative AI chatbots increased 1,200% as of October compared to a year earlier. facts.

Semrush has invested in what it calls “generative engine optimization,” and recently launched a tool for tracking and improving website performance using both traditional SEO techniques and optimization for AI engines such as ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Grok, and Perplexity.

“Brand visibility is being reimagined by generative AI, and brands that don’t 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 greater visibility, customer engagement and conversions across the ecosystem.”