Adobe to buy Semrush for $1.9 billion

Adobe said on Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire search engine optimization company Semrush for about $1.9 billion in cash, as the Photoshop maker seeks to augment its suite of marketing offerings.

In a statement, Adobe said it would offer $12 per share for Semrush, almost double the latter’s 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…