Image: © SIV Stock Studio/Stock.adobe.com
The newly formed company will trade as Getty Images.
Two of the world’s largest visual content platforms, Getty Images and Shutterstock, are set to merge into one business, it has been announced.
In an official statement released yesterday (7 January), both companies have agreed to combine in a merger of equals transaction, in an effort to create “a premier visual content company”. The new company will be known as Getty Images Holdings (it will keep the trading name of Getty Images) and will have an approximate value of $3.7bn.
The merger comes at a time when businesses which avail of still images are facing increasing competition from images which are generated by artificial intelligence (AI). Research shows that the AI image generator market is projected to grow to $60.8bn in 2030.
The combination of both companies, which each have millions upon millions of images and videos on their platforms, could prove to be a colossal move for both companies, especially as Getty Images serves around 1m customers in almost every country around the world, while Shutterstock serves around 3.29m websites.
Craig Peters, the current CEO of Getty Images, will be appointed as the CEO of the new company. He called the recent announcement “exciting and transformational for our companies”.
“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,” Peters said.
“By combining our complementary strengths, we can better address customer opportunities while delivering exceptional value to our partners, contributors and stockholders.”
Paul Hennessy, CEO of Shutterstock, also welcomed the news: “We expect the merger to produce value for the customers and stockholders of both companies by capitalising on attractive growth opportunities to drive combined revenues, accelerating product innovation, realising significant cost synergies and improving cash flow.”
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