Getty Images said on Tuesday it would merge with rival Shutterstock to create a $3.7 billion stock image powerhouse geared for the artificial intelligence era, in a deal that would likely draw antitrust scrutiny.<\/p>\n
The move comes at a time when the licensed visual content industry is facing threats from generative AI tools such as Midjourney and OpenAI\u2019s DALL-E, which can generate images and video in response to a simple text prompt from users.<\/p>\n
Under the deal, Shutterstock shareholders can opt to receive either $28.80 per share in cash, or 13.67 shares of Getty Images, or a combination of 9.17 shares of Getty and $9.50 in cash for each Shutterstock share they own.<\/p>\n
Shutterstock\u2019s shares jumped 26.5% in premarket trading, while Getty Images was up 50.2%. Stocks of both the companies have declined for at least the past four years, as the rising use of mobile cameras drives down demand for stock photography.<\/p>\n
The deal will help the companies in enhancing \u201ccontent offerings, expanding event coverage and delivering new technologies,\u201d said Craig Peters, CEO of Getty Images.<\/p>\n
Peters will serve as the CEO of the combined company, of which Getty Images investors will own about 54.7% and Shutterstock stockholders will own the rest.<\/p>\n
Getty competes with Reuters and the Associated Press in providing photos and videos for editorial use.<\/p>\n
The deal is expected to generate between $150 million and $200 million in annual cost savings by the third year of the combined company.<\/p>\n
It will be named Getty Images Holdings and will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol \u201cGETY.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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