Getty’s Shutterstock merger collapses

Getty plans to fire her Merger agreement worth $3.7 billion With Shutterstock after a UK regulator imposed restrictions that would have prevented part of Shutterstock’s business from being included in the deal. This move comes despite the US Department of Justice’s approval of the deal.”Unconditional antitrust clearance“In February.

in SEC filing Published Tuesday in the US, Getty said it was “not required to be accepted.” Conditions for approval It was set by the UK Competitions and Markets Authority in May that requires Shutterstock to sell its global editorial businesses, including Backgrid and Splash Paparazzi agencies.

These terms proved unattractive enough for Getty to withdraw from the deal, which aimed to merge the two companies’ stock image libraries. Both companies face competition from AI-powered image generators that provide fast and cheap on-demand media content. The company’s board of directors voted “unanimously” to terminate the merger agreement on July 6, “assuming no material change in the circumstances described above” before July 7. This essentially leaves the Getty/Shutterstock merger dead in the water.