Cleared by the US, derailed by the UK: Getty’s Shutterstock merger falls apart
Getty is planning to axe its $3.7 billion merger agreement with Shutterstock after a UK regulator imposed restrictions that would prevent part of Shutterstock’s business from being included in the deal. The move comes despite the US Department of Justice granting the deal “unconditional antitrust clearance” in February.
In an SEC filing published on Tuesday in the US, Getty said it is “not required to accept” approval conditions outlined by the UK Competitions and Markets Authority in May that require Shutterstock to sell its global editorial business, including the Backgrid and Splash paparazzi agencies.
Those conditions have proved unappealing enough for Getty to walk away from the deal, which aimed to combine the companies’ stock photo libraries. Both companies face competition from AI image generators that provide fast and cheap media content on demand. The company’s board of directors “unanimously” voted to terminate the merger agreement on July 6th, “assuming no material change in the aforementioned circumstances” occurs before July 7th. That essentially leaves the Getty/Shutterstock merger dead in the water.
Getty is planning to axe its $3.7 billion merger agreement with Shutterstock after a UK regulator imposed restrictions that would prevent part of Shutterstock’s business from being included in the deal. The move comes despite the US Department of Justice granting the deal “unconditional antitrust clearance” in February. In an…
Recent Posts
- Bots, deepfakes and fake identities are sabotaging user research
- AI music maker Suno now generates spoken words
- Balcony solar installations will soon be legal in America’s most populous state
- 31 Best STEM Toys for Kids (2026): Learning Made Fun
- Tech skills gaps are costing UK businesses around £380,000 a year — and it’s even worse in cybersecurity
Archives
- October 2026
- September 2026
- August 2026
- July 2026
- June 2026
- May 2026
- April 2026
- March 2026
- February 2026
- January 2026
- December 2025
- November 2025
- October 2025
- September 2025
- August 2025
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023