The UK competitions regulator seems set to deepen its investigation into the 拢3 billion proposed merger between Getty Images and Shutterstock.
After unearthing widespread concerns from UK businesses, trade associations and other stakeholders that it may result in higher prices, worsened commercial terms and a poorer level of product or service, the Competition and Markets Authority said it would refer the deal for Phase 2 Review 鈥渦nless the parties offer an acceptable undertaking to address these competition concerns鈥�.
Shutterstock released a statement to say it was willing to work with the CMA to address these concerns.
鈥淪hutterstock remains committed to the proposed merger and will continue to engage with the CMA and work with Getty Images to expeditiously secure the necessary clearances,鈥� it said.
The proposed merger, as announced in January of this year, would see Getty acquire Shutterstock for a consideration of approximately 拢245 million in cash and 319.4m shares of Getty Images stock, creating a combined entity with an enterprise value of over 拢3bn.聽
The merger is also currently under review by the United States Department of Justice.聽
Getty Images and Shutterstock both supply digital content, including photos, illustrations, videos and music. The CMA looked at two types of content: editorial, relating to specific events of interest and topical news items; and stock imagery used widely across non-news content.
Concerns across both types of digital content were highlighted from the News Media Association – whose members comprise national, regional and local news media organisations across the UK, and publish around 900 news media titles – and others.聽
鈥淭he evidence indicates that the supply of editorial content is concentrated, and that Getty Images is the clear market leader. No other supplier is of a similar size or has such a broad editorial offering,鈥� said the CMA.
鈥淪hutterstock, 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.
鈥淏esides Shutterstock, competition comes primarily from a small number of newswire services, including PA Media/Alamy, Associated Press, and Reuters, whose offerings also tend to be somewhat differentiated from the parties鈥� offerings in terms of their commercial models as newswires and their content coverage (e.g. focus on news).鈥澛�
With regards to stock content, it added: 鈥淭he evidence indicates the parties are each other鈥檚 main competitor alongside PA Media/Alamy and Adobe Stock. The evidence on Canva is more mixed and suggests that it may compete mainly for SMBs and individuals.聽
鈥淲hile some of the parties鈥� documents identify Canva as a key competitor, customers that the CMA spoke to did not identify it as an alternative. Unlike the parties, Canva only offers stock content for use in its design tools. Canva also relies on Getty Images for some of its content.
鈥淭he emergence of generative AI (GenAI) as a source of imagery is disrupting the industry. While the position is evolving, the CMA has not seen evidence that GenAI players are either currently, or likely to be in the next few years, an alternative to stock content for a significant proportion of demand.鈥�
Getty and Shutterstock have until 27th October 2025 to offer an undertaking which might be accepted by the CMA to address its concerns.
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