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 Competition 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.

Pressure from UK regulators has killed similar deals in the past. Meta was ordered to unload Giphy in 2021 over competition concerns, which it sold to Shutterstock in 2023.