Getty Images and Shutterstock Merge for $3.7 Billion

Getty Images and Shutterstock have announced a merger valued at $3.7 billion in response to the growing competition posed by AI-generated content, such as that produced by Midjourney and OpenAI's DALL-E. This merger aims to consolidate their resources and enhance their competitiveness against these AI tools that have disrupted the traditional stock photography market. Shareholders of Shutterstock can choose between cash or shares in Getty Images as part of the deal, which is expected to lead to significant cost savings and improved technological capabilities. Craig Peters, CEO of Getty Images, will lead the new entity, named Getty Images Holdings, which will continue to trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol 'GETY'. The merger is anticipated to generate between $150 million and $200 million in annual savings by its third year. However, it may attract antitrust scrutiny due to the consolidation of significant market power in the stock image industry.