Of all the stock photo sites out there, Getty Images is probably the most well-known, and part of this is due to what it charges. So it’s a bit ironic to see Reuters reporting that the company said it would file for bankruptcy “amid heavy debt”. It won’t be completely shutting down though. After it goes through “a restructuring agreement”, it will go private instead.
According to the report, the bankruptcy filing comes after its planned merger with rival stock photo provider Shutterstock failed to materialise. Beyond that and the aforementioned debt, the report also mentions “growing competition from AI-generated imagery” as another contributing factor to the bankruptcy. The company also had a reported total debt of about US$2.1 billion (~RM8.6 billion) as of 30 June. This is in contrast to its latest market valuation, which was US$20.74 million (~RM84.9 million).
The report does point out that Getty Images was fluctuating between being a public and private company. In relation to current developments, it was a publicly traded company prior to 2008, when it turned private. Then in 2022, it returned to public markets through a special purpose acquisition company that valued it at US$4.8 billion (~RM19.66 billion). Since then, it has lost about 99% of its value.
While Reuters published its report recently, it notes that the New York Stock Exchange had started delisting proceedings against Getty Images at the end of September. Once it completes the resulting restructuring, it will be 100% owned by affiliates of the Getty family and Koch Equity Development. The report also cites the company itself as saying that the investors have committed to provide up to US$533 million (~RM2.18 billion) of new equity.
(Source: Reuters)
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