Getty Images Is Canceling Its $3.7 Billion Shutterstock Merger Due To UK Restrictions
The companies initially agreed to the deal in order to fend off AI competition.
Smith Collection / Gado via Getty Images
Getty Images has moved to terminate a $3.7 billion merger with rival Shutterstock due to restrictions imposed by UK regulators, The Wall Street Journal reported. The canceled agreement between the two stock photo giants shows that US approval isn't necessarily all that's needed to get a deal done.
Getty and Shutterstock announced the planned merger back in January 2025, with the aim of creating a stock photo giant that could handle expected AI image competition. The new company would have been branded Getty Images Holdings Inc. and was described as "transformational" by Getty CEO Craig Peters.
The US Department of Justice had already granted "unconditional antitrust clearance" for the deal earlier this year. However, the UK's Competitions and Markets Authority announced in Maythat it wouldn't approve the merger...
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