Canva, the Australian graphic design giant, is buying Serif, a professional design software company based in Nottingham, England. 

This acquisition, likely exceeding $1 billion, marks Canva's most substantial purchase to date, and moves it into competition with Adobe ahead of Canva’s anticipated public listing.

Serif, established in 1987, has witnessed a surge in growth with its Affinity product line, a direct competitor to Adobe's suite of design tools. 

Unlike Canva's user-friendly subscription model, Serif caters to professional users, offering its software for a one-time payment, with its photo editing tool priced at $120 per licence.

Serif saw a 33 per cent revenue increase in 2022, amounting to £31 million (AU$60 million), and a profit rise of 19.5 per cent to £16.4 million. 

A negotiation process between Canva and Serif, initiated by Canva co-founder Cameron Adams via LinkedIn, reportedly culminated in a mutually agreed offer without the need for extended negotiations.

Serif will be integrated into Canva's global team, with its 90 employees remaining in Nottingham.

The future branding and pricing strategies for Affinity software within Canva's suite remain under consideration, with indications of maintaining the current fixed-price model alongside Canva's subscription offerings.