Getty Images and Shutterstock Pull the Plug on $3.7 Billion Merger
Getty Images and Shutterstock terminated their proposed $3.7 billion merger after the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority required the sale of Shutterstock’s editorial business as a condition, which Getty’s board deemed unacceptable. Getty, led by CEO Craig Peters, said in a Tuesday regulatory filing that its board unanimously voted to abandon the deal and will hire a financial adviser to evaluate strategic financing alternatives. The merger, announced in January 2025, would have combined major stock and editorial image libraries and projected $150 million to $200 million in cost synergies within three years. The decision came amid heightened attention to U.K. regulatory power over media deals, as the CMA also opened a June 10 review of a separate Paramount-related transaction with an August 7 deadline.
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This story was covered in Seized Treasures, Culture Cash, and Political Pressure