Getty Images and Shutterstock to merge to create $3.7 billion firm
The world’s two largest stock photo companies, Getty Images and Shutterstock, have announced plans to merge to create a company with an expected value of $3.7 billion.
If approved by regulators, Getty’s shareholders will own approximately 54.7% of the merged company, Getty Images Holdings, while Shutterstock’s shareholders will own 45.3%.
The companies – whose holdings include 3D model library TurboSquid – expect the merger to enable them to reduce costs, and increase investment in technologies like generative AI.
Bringing together two of the key players in the stock asset market
The deal brings together two of the biggest players in the stock asset market: Getty Images has over 80 million images available to license, although its full library is several times larger.
The company also owns and operates the iStock and Unsplash photo libraries.
Shutterstock’s portfolio of stock content is even broader: the company owns the Pond5 video library, PremiumBeat audio library, TurboSquid 3D model library, and multi-format library Envato.
As of September 2024, there were over 530 million assets on Shutterstock.com alone.
Merger expected to lead to up to $200 million in cost savings
Announcing the merger, Getty Images and Shutterstock described their portfolios as “complementary”, and said that the “more robust cash flow” of the merged company would enable them to reduce borrowing costs and accelerate debt repayment.
The firms expect to make $150-200 million in cost savings within three years of the merger.
“With the rapid rise in demand for compelling visual content across industries, there has never been a better time for [us] to come together,” said Getty Images CEO Craig Peters.
Getty Images to play controlling role in the merged company
Peters will serve as CEO of the merged company, due to be named Getty Images Holdings, Inc.
Its board will be chaired by Getty Images co-founder Mark Getty and will have seven directors designated by Getty Images, with the remaining four designated by Shutterstock.
Getty Images shareholders will own approximately 54.7% of the combined company and Shutterstock stockholders will own approximately 45.3%.
Welcomed by investors, but less so by artists
News of the merger has been welcomed by investors, with Associated Press reporting that shares in both companies jumped in value following the announcment.
Reactions from artists have been less positive, with PetaPixel describing the merger as “another step in the race to the bottom” in an article citing the commission rates the companies pay to photographers, and the control a merged company would exert over the stock image market.
Expected to lead to further growth of generative AI tools
Among the proposed strategic and financial benefits of the merger, Getty Images and Shutterstock also list “greater investment in [technologies like] generative AI”.
Both firms have already launched AI image-generation services trained on their content, while Shutterstock is also launching a text-to-3D service, currently available to developers in beta.
Shutterstock also licenses its assets to OpenAI as training data, and has agreements with Amazon, Apple, Google and Meta, according to Reuters.
Read Getty Images and Shutterstock’s official statement announcing their proposed merger
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