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The two largest stock photo companies in the world, Getty Images and Shutterstock, have announced they are merging to create a company with an expected valuation of $3.7 billion.
Getty, the bigger company of the two, is effectively buying Shutterstock in a cash-and-stock deal. Getty’s shareholders will own approximately 54.7 percent of the new company, while Shutterstock’s shareholders will own 45.3 percent. The company will still be called Getty Images and continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “GETY.”
Combined, Getty and Shutterstock have hundreds of millions of images available for licensing purposes. News media, ad agencies, and filmmakers all license content from Getty and Shutterstock. The two companies represent thousands of photographers, many of whom rely on them for income.
“I’m a photojournalist and the majority of my income comes from Getty and Shutterstock,” writes one Redditor reacting to the news. “I hope they don’t take the worst features from each company to incorporate in the merged new entity.”
Getty Images CEO Craig Peters says “there has never been a better time for our two businesses to come together.” Peters will remain in his role at the helm of the combined businesses.
“We are excited by the opportunities we see to expand our creative content library and enhance our product offering to meet diverse customer needs,” adds Shutterstock CEO Paul Hennessy.
The Associated Press reports that news of the merger has sent Shutterstock shares soaring by more than 30 percent while the Getty Images’ price has jumped more than 58 percent.
The rise of artificial intelligence has likely played a role in the merger; the combined assets of Shutterstock and Getty are a treasure trove of training data for AI companies. However, while AI licensing deals are an opportunity, it could also be an issue for stock photo companies as customers may decide to use AI image generators like Midjourney or DALL-E rather than pay for individual pictures.
“Today’s announcement is exciting and transformational for our companies, unlocking multiple opportunities to strengthen our financial foundation and invest in the future—including enhancing our content offerings, expanding event coverage, and delivering new technologies to better serve our customers,” adds Getty CEO Craig Peters.
TechCrunch notes that the deal could yet attract antitrust scrutiny from the U.S. government.
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