Getty Images and Shutterstock to merge to form $3.7 billion stock photo giant

Getty Images has announced plans to merge with its rival Shutterstock in a cash-and-stock deal. The combined entity is expected to be valued at $3.7 billion based on yesterday’s closing share prices. This announcement confirms earlier reporting from Bloomberg.

Both companies offer stock photos and video footage that can be licensed and reused. This content is commonly used by news organizations, film and documentary makers, ad agencies, marketing firms and more.

Getty Images is the bigger company of the two, as Getty Images shareholders will own approximately 54.7% of the new entity while Shutterstock shareholders will own 45.3% of the company (Getty Images also owns the iStock and Unsplash brands). The company will simply be called Getty Images.

As part of the deal, Shutterstock shareholders can decide to receive $28.80 per share in cash, or 13.67 shares of Getty Images, or a mix of both.

Today’s move comes at a crucial time as artificial intelligence is about to shake things up for the stock image industry. AI represents both an opportunity and a threat, as Getty Images can choose to license its content to AI companies so that they can train their next-generation models.

At the same time, Getty Images customers might decide to use generative AI tools, such as MidJourney, OpenAI’s Dall-E and Runway ML, to create images and videos that fit their needs.

“Today’s announcement is exciting and transformational for our companies, unlocking multiple opportunities to strengthen our financial foundation and invest in the future—including enhancing our content offerings, expanding event coverage, and delivering new technologies to better serve our customers,” Getty Images CEO Craig Peters (pictured above) said in a statement.

This merger will also likely draw antitrust scrutiny. It will be interesting to watch how the incoming Trump Administration plans to handle this deal in the coming weeks and months.