Gear Rental Giant BorrowLenses Acquired by Photobook Giant Shutterfly

Two of big names in the photography industry joined forces today as Shutterfly Inc announced its acquisition of premier photography and videography gear rental service BorrowLenses.

The announcement came straight from the two companies today, as Shutterfly put out a press release and BorrowLenses founders Mark and Max wrote out a personal letter to users assuring them that this is a step in the right direction and that “the best is yet to come.”

According to the press release and BorrowLenses’ own FAQ about the acquisition, the company’s rental service will continue with “business as usual,” only now as a part of the Shutterfly Inc. “family of brands.”

“This acquisition gives Shutterfly a presence in the rapidly expanding sharing economy,” explains Shutterfly president and CEO Jeffrey Housenbold. “We now have a greater ability to diversify our revenue streams, reduce fourth quarter seasonality and improve upsell and cross-sell opportunities among our family of brands.”

For all intents and purposes, it seems that this change will have little impact on current Shutterfly or BorrowLenses users, with the exception of the newly-possible “upsell and cross-sell opportunities” mentioned above.

For more information or if you have any questions about how this might affect you as a Shutterfly or BorrowLenses customer, check out the press release, letter and FAQ by following the corresponding links.