Industry
SUMMARY
Getty Images has called off its $3.7 billion merger with Shutterstock, rejecting a UK regulator's condition that Shutterstock divest its entire editorial photography business. While the deal had US antitrust approval, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority cited competition concerns for editorial content. Getty's board unanimously voted to abandon the merger rather than comply with the divestiture. The UK regulator determined that the stock content market is already sufficiently competitive due to AI tools, but drew a line at protecting human-driven editorial work.
TAKEAWAYS
Getty Images canceled its $3.7 billion merger with Shutterstock.
UK regulators required Shutterstock to sell its editorial photography business.
The merger was blocked due to concerns over competition in editorial content.
AI's impact on stock imagery was cited as a reason for less concern in that market.