Getty Images × Shutterstock
Getty Images and Shutterstock announced a definitive merger agreement on January 7, 2025, to create a combined company with an enterprise value of approximately $3.7 billion. [26, 31, 35] The stated goal was to combine their extensive content libraries to better compete in a market being disrupted by generative AI. [30, 40] However, the deal was officially terminated in July 2026 after the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) raised concerns and required the sale of Shutterstock's editorial business as a condition for approval, a condition Getty chose not to meet. [28, 39]
The asset
A merger of the two companies, combining their respective content libraries of still imagery, video, music, and other media.
The record
- Seller status
- Going concern
- Sector
- stock photography and media
- Modalities
- images, video, music
- Jurisdiction
- US
What it means if you hold data
This announced merger represented a massive consolidation in the stock media industry, driven directly by the strategic need to gain scale against generative AI. Its subsequent failure due to regulatory intervention demonstrates the significant hurdles that large-scale horizontal mergers face, even when motivated by new technological threats.