UK Probes Getty-Shutterstock Merger Over Competition Concerns

Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has warned that the proposed $3.7 billion merger between Getty Images and Shutterstock could significantly reduce competition in the editorial and stock photography markets.

According to the regulator, combining two of the largest photo licensing platforms could result in higher prices, less favorable commercial terms, and diminished service quality for media outlets and creative industry customers in the UK.

The CMA says its concerns align with issues raised by the UK’s News Media Association and other sector stakeholders. The authority first announced in August that it was assessing whether the deal would lead to “a lessening of competition” in the market.

“The evidence indicates that the supply of editorial content is concentrated, and that Getty Images is the clear market leader,” the CMA says, per City AM.

“No other supplier is of a similar size or has such a broad editorial offering. Shutterstock, while significantly smaller and somewhat differentiated in its offering, is one of the few material alternatives to Getty Images. Shutterstock is seen as a particularly good alternative to Getty Images in entertainment and archive content.”

Getty Images and Shutterstock announced the agreement in January, aiming to create a combined entity valued at approximately $3.7 billion including debt. The companies are pursuing the merger during a period of rapid technological change, as generative AI tools increasingly reshape the image licensing industry.

In separate statements, both companies say they remain committed to the transaction and intend to work with the regulator to secure approval. Getty declined to answer Reuters’ questions on whether it has proposed, or intends to propose, remedies to address the CMA’s concerns.

The regulator has set an October 27 deadline for the companies to offer undertakings that would resolve its competition concerns. If acceptable remedies are not provided by that date, the CMA will refer the case to a more detailed phase two investigation.

‘A Race to the Bottom’

Commenting on the merger in January, PetaPixel’s editor-in-chief Jaron Schneider called the deal “just one more step down the road to rock bottom.”

“The new Getty Images after the merger is estimated to be worth $3.7 billion — that’s nearly 75% of the entire market’s value in 2025,” Schneider writes. “One company owning that much of the industry would give it significant power to control pricing and squeeze out smaller companies like DepositPhotos, Dissolve, and even Adobe Stock.”

Photojournalist Angus Mordant told Artnet that the merger would “create a monopoly that only stands to hurt photographers” since “both Getty and Shutterstock have been notorious for leading the race to the bottom of the barrel with some of the lowest licensing rates in the industry.”