REG - Competition and Mkts - CMA update: Getty/Shutterstock

ShutterstockAnnouncement

15/05/2026 13:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20260515:nRSO5523Ea&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 5523E  Competition and Markets Authority  15 May 2026

CMA conditionally clears Getty merger with Shutterstock

CMA independent inquiry group concludes deal can proceed if Shutterstock sells
its editorial business

·    After extensive evidence gathering, inquiry group concludes deal did
not raise concerns for stock content globally

·    Inquiry group finds deal raises concerns in the supply of editorial
content in the UK

·    Sale of Shutterstock's editorial business to suitable purchaser would
address concerns

The Competition and Markets Authority's independent inquiry group has
concluded the merger between Getty and Shutterstock would lead to competition
concerns for editorial content supplied to UK media outlets, but not for stock
content supplied globally.

Editorial content includes pictures and videos of newsworthy events, people
and landmarks. In the UK, customers require both global and country-specific
content, relating to sports fixtures, news events and celebrities.

The inquiry group found that a loss of competition between the two businesses
would reduce choice for UK media outlets and could lead to higher prices, with
knock-on negative impacts for consumers who rely on high quality editorial
content to stay informed. During the investigation, the CMA received extensive
evidence, including from UK media organisations, publishers, competitors and
content suppliers, which showed that Shutterstock provides one of the few
meaningful alternatives to Getty, the market leader in editorial content in
the UK.

The inquiry group concluded that a sale of Shutterstock's global editorial
business, which operates under the Shutterstock Editorial, Backgrid and Splash
brands and competes with Getty across live and archive news, sport and
entertainment content, could resolve the competition concerns identified.

Getty and Shutterstock offered to sell Shutterstock's global editorial
business at the end of the CMA's phase 1 investigation, previously describing
it as "peripheral to Shutterstock's core operations".

Once a sale of the Shutterstock editorial business is concluded to a
CMA-approved purchaser, the Getty and Shutterstock merger, which the
businesses have claimed will produce cost synergies of $150-200 million
annually, can proceed.

Margot Daly, chair of the independent inquiry group leading this
investigation, said:

"Editorial images, which cover everything from red carpet and
celebrity images to pictures and videos of sports or major breaking news
events, are used every day by media outlets, publishers and
filmmakers to bring stories to life for UK audiences. Any loss of
competition could be strongly felt by these customers.

"This deal can proceed if the businesses sell Shutterstock's editorial
business to a suitable buyer to ensure that UK media outlets and their
customers aren't worse off as a result. We will continue to work with Getty
and Shutterstock throughout any sales process."

More information can be found on the CMA's Getty / Shutterstock investigation
case page
(https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/getty-images-slash-shutterstock-merger-inquiry)
.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1.   At the end of the CMA's phase 1 investigation, Getty and Shutterstock
offered to sell Shutterstock's entire global editorial business, which
operates under the Shutterstock Editorial, Backgrid and Splash brands and
competes with Getty across live and archive news, sport and entertainment
content.

2.   At that stage, the package of remedies offered did not address the
CMA's concerns at phase 1 in respect of stock content, and so the deal had to
be referred to phase 2.

3.   After the CMA published its interim report in February, the businesses
put forward a substantially reduced proposal to sell only Shutterstock's
Backgrid and Splash celebrity entertainment businesses, which primarily focus
on paparazzi, including certain types of paparazzi which Getty does not
supply. Having consulted on this proposal, the inquiry group concluded that
this would not be an effective remedy because it would not restore competition
that Shutterstock currently provides. No third party told the CMA it would be
effective.

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  MERAAMLTMTABMLF



            Copyright 2019 Regulatory News Service, all rights reserved