Adobe to acquire Semrush in $1.9 billion all-cash deal

New Delhi: Adobe has agreed to acquire Semrush, the US-listed brand visibility and SEO platform, in an all-cash deal valuing the company at about $1.9 billion.

Under a definitive agreement announced on November 19, Adobe will pay $12 per share for Semrush, which provides data-driven search engine optimisation (SEO) and generative engine optimisation (GEO) tools to help brands stay visible across search and AI-driven interfaces.

Adobe said the acquisition is aimed at strengthening its digital experience and marketing stack at a time when brand discovery is rapidly shifting to large language models such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini, alongside traditional search.

By combining Adobe’s customer experience and content tools with Semrush’s GEO and SEO capabilities, the two companies plan to offer marketers a single view of how their brands appear across owned channels, LLMs, search engines and the wider open web.

The transaction has been approved by the boards of both companies and is expected to close in the first half of 2026, subject to regulatory clearances and other customary conditions, including approval by Semrush shareholders. Adobe has already secured voting commitments in favour of the deal from Semrush’s founders and other investors representing more than 75% of the company’s voting power.

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is advising Adobe on the deal. Centerview Partners is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Semrush, with Davis Polk & Wardwell serving as its legal counsel.

Semrush, which has spent more than a decade building its SEO business, has recently positioned itself as a key partner for brands trying to remain discoverable inside AI search results. In its most recent quarter, the company reported 33% year-on-year growth in annual recurring revenue from its enterprise segment, counting Amazon, JPMorgan Chase and TikTok among its customers.

“Brand visibility is being reshaped 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’re unlocking GEO for marketers as a new growth channel alongside their SEO, driving more visibility, customer engagement and conversions across the ecosystem.”

“Adobe is an industry leader in helping marketers create personalised customer experiences at scale,” said Bill Wagner, Semrush’s chief executive officer. “With the advent of LLMs and AI-driven search, brands need to understand where and how their customers are engaging in these new channels. This combination provides marketers more insights and capabilities to increase their discoverability across today’s evolving digital landscape.”