Getty Images Holdings Inc. is exploring a combination with rival Shutterstock Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. Shares Getty Images rose as much as 32%, the most since 2023.
Getty has been weighing how to structure a deal that would bring together two of the biggest providers of licensed visual-content in the US, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the information isn’t public. Deliberations are ongoing and Getty could decide not to pursue a deal, they added.
A representative for Getty Images declined to comment, while a spokesperson for Shutterstock didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Getty Images closed up 13% to $2.39 in New York trading Friday, giving the company a market value of $983 million. Shutterstock rose 7.9% to $31.47, for a market value of about $1.1 billion. Before Friday’s gains, Getty had fallen 56% in the past year, while Shutterstock had slid 37%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Antitrust Risk
A merger would likely draw significant antitrust scrutiny while also underscoring optimism among companies for a more permissive regulatory environment for dealmaking under the incoming Trump Administration.
To be sure, the merger of the two major players in any market is likely to invite a hard look regardless of who is in the White House. And Gail Slater and Andrew Ferguson, President-elect Donald Trump’s picks to head the Justice Department’s antitrust division and the Federal Trade Commission, respectively, aren’t expected to have a light touch on enforcement.
The merger deliberations by Getty Images come as demand for pictures, videos and other media soars, with consumers increasingly spending more of their time online. Artificial intelligence is also upending the content-creation business, while cell phone cameras have reduced the value of stock photography.
Founded in 1995, Seattle-based Getty Images has an immense library of photos, illustrations, videos and music used by the news, entertainment, advertising and content-creation industries, among others. Those images include O.J. Simpson’s police chase and former President Barack Obama’s situation room photo during the operation to kill Osama bin Laden, among scores of other historic photos, according to an investor presentation.
Family Holdings
Getty Images also employs photographers and has exclusive partnerships with FIFA, the NCAA and PGA Tour. It was co-founded by Chairman Mark Getty of the wealthy Getty family. Mark Getty is also a director at Getty Investments, which holds about 43% of the company’s outstanding shares, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Other major backers include Koch Inc. and Neuberger Berman.
Getty Images went public via a blank-check vehicle backed by CC Capital and Neuberger Berman in 2021, fetching a valuation of $4.8 billion at the time.
Shutterstock, which went public in 2012, runs a search-able platform that lets contributors upload their content in exchange for royalty payments based on download activity, according to its most recent annual report.
(Updates with closing share prices in fourth paragraph)
