Getty Images and Shutterstock are merging to form a $3.7 billion media company.
Representatives of Getty Images and Shutterstock did not immediately reply to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.
In a release, Getty said the two companies “will offer a content library with greater depth and breadth for the benefit of customers, expanded opportunities for its contributor community, and a reinforced commitment to the adoption of inclusive and representative content.”
Getty stock rallied on the news. As of mid-morning on Tuesday, shares of Getty Images had risen to about $3.33 after closing at $2.57 a share on Jan. 6. Shares of New York-based Shutterstock Inc. also jumped to about $36.75 from a Monday close of $30.05 a share.
In a Tuesday investor presentation, Getty and Shutterstock said the companies will save about $175 million a year thanks to “significant synergies.” The deal will also allow both companies to reduce their debt load and pay down existing debts more quickly.
The same investor presentation said that as of Sept. 30, 2024, Getty Images held $1.24 billion in debt, while Shutterstock held debt of about $148 million.
According to a Getty release, the transaction was unanimously approved by both companies’ boards of directors. The deal is subject to stockholder and regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Getty did not share a projected closure date.
After the transaction closes, the combined company will be known as Getty Images Holdings Inc. and will be led by Getty Images CEO Craig Peters. When closed, Getty Images stockholders will own about 54.7 percent, and Shutterstock stockholders will own about 45.3 percent on a fully diluted basis, a release said.
A release said that in 2024, had the companies been combined, they would have earned about $1.98 billion in revenues.
In a release, Getty said the merger will allow the combined companies to invest in “innovative content creation, expanded event coverage, and customer‑facing technologies and capabilities such as search, 3D imagery and generative [artificial intelligence].”
In its latest earnings report, published with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 7, 2024, Getty said it recorded a net income—or profit—of about $14.7 million in the first nine months of 2024. That was a significant improvement over the year-ago period when it disclosed a net loss of about $19.5 million.
The same earnings report said Getty brought in similar revenues through the first three quarters of 2023 and 2024. In both periods, the company said it made about $690 million in revenue.
Shutterstock’s latest earnings report, filed on Oct. 29, 2024, said the company made a net income of about $37.4 million in the first nine months of 2024. However, in the same period of 2023, it reported a net income of about $111.2 million.
According to its latest earnings report, Shutterstock’s revenue over the first three quarters of 2024 was about $684.9 million. That was an improvement over the $657.4 million the company reported for the same period of 2023.
