Of all the stock photo sites out there, Getty Images is probably the most well-known, and part of this is due to what it charges. So it’s a bit ironic to see Reuters reporting that the company said it would file for bankruptcy “amid heavy debt”. It won’t be completely shutting down though. After it goes through “a restructuring agreement”, it will go private instead.
According to the report, the bankruptcy filing comes after its planned merger with rival stock photo provider Shutterstock failed to materialise. Beyond that and the aforementioned debt, the report also mentions “growing competition from AI-generated imagery” as another contributing factor to the bankruptcy. The company also had a reported total debt of about US$2.1 billion (~RM8.6 billion) as of 30 June. This is in contrast to its latest market valuation, which was US$20.74 million (~RM84.9 million).
