Getty Images Acquired in $2.4 Billion Deal
by Daryl Lang - PDNonline.com
The world's largest photo agency announced Wednesday that it has completed its deal to go private and will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange at the end of the day.
The announcement follows a June 20 vote in which a majority of Getty Images shareholders approved the deal.
Getty Images is being acquired by an affiliate of Hellman & Friedman, a private equity firm with a number of media investments. The companies value the transaction at $2.4 billion.
Shareholders will receive $34 for each outstanding share of Getty Images stock. At its highest, in November 2005, Getty stock traded at over $95. Since then, the fast-changing stock imagery market put pressure on Getty's core business, the licensing of traditional creative stock imagery.
Hellman & Friedman has invested in a number of media and marketing companies, including Axel Springer AG, Catalina Marketing Corporation, DoubleClick, Formula One Holdings, ProSiebenSat.1, and Upromise. The firm is a part owner of the Nielsen Company, the owner of
mediajobmarket.com.
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