Adobe, Macromedia Almost Together

Adobe said late Thursday that it had received clearance from the Justice Department to complete its $3.4 billion merger with software company Macromedia. In July, the DOJ indicated it was looking into the merger and requested more information on the companies' products in authoring and design, as well as vector graphics illustration.

Completion of the merger is expected on Saturday, ending a seven-month process that would create arguably the most powerful multimedia and design company in the industry. Adobe also announced that it would provide analysts a look into the newly combined company's finances in a conference call scheduled for December 15.