What happened?
Getty Images filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware on Wednesday, October 21. The company plans to use the process to restructure its debt and go private.
New ownership
The Getty family and Koch Equity Development will invest up to $533M and take full ownership of Getty Images. The company expects to complete the process by the end of the year.
Why now?
The filing follows the collapse of a planned merger with Shutterstock and mounting competition from AI-generated images in the stock photography market. Chapter 11 allows a company to restructure its debt while continuing to operate.
