Getty Images and Shutterstock, two of the largest picture agencies in the world, have announced plans to merge, a development that is set to significantly impact the visual content sector.
Gatekeepers News reports that the merger, announced on Tuesday, aims to combine their extensive image platforms, with anticipated savings of between $150 million and $200 million over the three years following its completion, as stated in their joint announcement.
The resulting entity will be named Getty Image Holdings and is projected to have a valuation of approximately $3.7 billion.
“With the rapid rise in demand for compelling visual content across industries, there has never been a better time for our two businesses to come together,” said Getty Images chief executive Craig Peters.
“By combining our complementary strengths, we can better address customer opportunities while delivering exceptional value to our partners, contributors, and stockholders,” he added.
Getty Images Holdings will continue to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
As part of the deal, Getty Images will offer to pay $331 million in cash and will also offer 319.4 million of its shares to Shutterstock shareholders.
Once the deal is complete, Getty Images shareholders will own approximately 54.7 percent of the new entity, and Shutterstock shareholders will own around 45.3 percent.
Craig Peters will be the chief executive of the new company, which will be chaired by Mark Getty, the current chairman of Getty Images, which he co-founded in 1995.
A major provider of stock photography worldwide, Getty Images was first floated on the stock market in 1996 before being taken private again in 2008.
In 2018, the Getty family acquired the private equity firm Carlyle’s 51 percent stake in the company, inheriting a group weighed down by the substantial debt incurred by its previous owners.
The agency returned to the stock market at the end of 2021 in a deal that valued it at around $4.8 billion.
In April 2023, activist investment firm Trillium Capital unsuccessfully offered to buy the company at a price of around $4 billion.
