Getty Images Scraps $3.7 Billion Shutterstock Merger

Getty Images has terminated its planned $3.7 billion merger with Shutterstock after UK regulators imposed conditions the companies refused to meet, The Wall Street Journal reported.

UK regulators block the deal without divestiture. In May the UK's Competition and Markets Authority said it would withhold approval unless Shutterstock divested its entire global editorial operation, which includes celebrity and news photo agencies. Officials reportedly feared that reduced competition would limit options for British media outlets and drive up costs.

Getty's directors voted unanimously against pursuing the required sale and therefore ended the merger agreement, the company stated in an SEC filing. The transaction is now off unless "material change in the aforementioned circumstances" occurs before July 7.

Merger aimed to counter AI image competition. The two firms first revealed the combination in January 2025, intending to form a larger entity better positioned against rising AI-generated imagery. The combined business would have operated as Getty Images Holdings Inc., a move that Getty CEO Craig Peters called "transformational."

Although the US Department of Justice had granted unconditional antitrust clearance earlier this year, the British demands proved fatal.

Both companies recently partnered with OpenAI. Getty and Shutterstock each struck licensing agreements with OpenAI that let their watermarked photographs appear inside ChatGPT search results. Even so, most major news organizations continue to steer clear of AI-created pictures for editorial use.

The episode illustrates how local regulatory hurdles can still derail transactions that cleared US review. It also underscores the regulatory risks facing Paramount's proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery in Britain and elsewhere.