
在放弃于6月下旬因监管障碍而终止与竞争对手Shutterstock的37亿美元合并交易后,盖蒂图片社现在计划申请第11章破产保护,并与查尔斯·科赫的投资公司合作实现私有化。
After abandoning a $3.7 billion merger with rival Shutterstock in late June over a regulatory roadblock, Getty Images now plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and go private in partnership with Charles Koch’s investment firm.
随着公司筹划全面改革,其表示此举不会对运营、员工、合作伙伴和供应商产生影响。公司计划在不久的将来启动预包装的第11章破产程序,并希望在年底前完成重组并重新出发。盖蒂图片社向全球新闻媒体和企业提供电讯摄影和视频服务,客户包括大多数红毯活动和电影节首映礼。
As the company plots an overhaul, it says that there will be no impact on operations, employees, partners and vendors. It plans to undergo a prepackaged Chapter 11 process shortly and emerge from restructuring by the end of the year. Getty provides wire service photography and video to news outlets and businesses globally, including most red carpets and film festival premieres.
6月,盖蒂图片社首席执行官克雷格·彼得斯表示,在英国最高监管机构竞争与市场管理局要求出售Shutterstock的编辑业务后,公司董事会决定终止与Shutterstock的合并交易。盖蒂图片社专注于发展其核心编辑业务,认为这一要求无法接受。
In June, Getty CEO Craig Peters said that its board of directors decided to scrap the deal to merge with Shutterstock after the top regulator in the U.K., the Competition and Markets Authority, required the sale of Shutterstock’s editorial business. Getty, which is focused on growing its core editorial business, viewed that as a non-starter.
在8月的最新财报电话会议上,彼得斯表示,公司为追求与Shutterstock的战略交易,已在专业费用和融资成本上花费超过1亿美元,但该交易最终未能达成。
During its latest earnings call in August, Peters said the company had spent “more than $100 million across professional fees and financing costs in pursuit of what we believe will be a strategic transaction” with Shutterstock that ultimately didn’t go through.
当时,盖蒂图片社曾聘请古根海姆证券寻求战略融资替代方案,以支持其独立发展路径。这一努力促成了科赫团队的介入,以提供新融资(科赫股权发展公司自2018年起一直是盖蒂图片社的支持方,当年通过5亿美元优先股投资入股)。
At the time, Getty had hired Guggenheim Securities to seek strategic financing alternatives in its standalone path. That resulted in the Koch team arriving to provide new financing (Koch Equity Development has been a backer of Getty since 2018, after making a $500 million preferred equity investment that year).
公司在周一的投资者演示中披露,其iStock电子商务业务出现了“机构需求下降和市场动荡”,这 presumably 归因于人工智能工具和产品的快速普及,使得股票图像创建变得前所未有的便捷。
The company disclosed in an investor presentation on Monday that its iStock eCommerce business has seen “declining agency demand and disruption,” presumably due to the rapid adoption of AI tools and products that have made stock image creation easy.
然而,盖蒂预测其核心编辑图像业务将实现增长,预计该由新闻图像驱动的业务单元(即记录实际发生事件的真实照片)将从2024年的3.69亿美元增长至2029年的4亿美元。
Yet Getty projects growth in its core editorial image unit, forecasting that the division that’s powered by news images (i.e. real photos of actual events that have occurred), will grow from $369 million to $400 million by 2029.
盖蒂首席财务官詹妮弗·莱登曾在8月表示,由于“刻意淡化低价值获取渠道的策略,包括终止我们的iStock免费试用项目”,年度活跃用户数从上一年的32.1万降至24.1万。如今,盖蒂将进一步聚焦其档案和新闻摄影驱动的业务。盖蒂联合创始人兼董事会主席马克·盖蒂表示:“此次变革性交易得益于业务的强劲表现以及我们所看到的未来显著增长潜力。”
Getty CFO Jennifer Leyden had said in August that annualrs fell from 321,000 to 241,000 over the prior year due to a “deliberate strategy to deemphasize lower-value acquisition channels, including the discontinuation of our iStock free trial program.”Now it will be leaning even further into its archive and news photography-driven business. “This transformational transaction is underpinned by the strength of the business and the significant growth potential we see ahead,” said Mark Getty, co-founder and chairman of the Board.
他补充道:“我很高兴能继续与科赫股权发展及贷款方集团保持紧密合作,通过优化资本结构为公司提供支持,使我们能够在坚实基础上继续发展,抓住新的增长机遇。”科赫股权发展的关联公司已承诺提供最高5.33亿美元的新增股权,以帮助图片供应商从一家公开交易公司转型为私营企业。盖蒂发言人向《好莱坞报道者》重申,裁员不会是重组计划的一部分。
“I am pleased to continue our strong partnership with Koch Equity Development and the lender groups to provide capital structure improvements that will enable us to build on our solid foundation and seize new growth opportunities.”Affiliates of Koch Equity Development have pledged up to $533 million of new equity to help the image provider go from a publicly traded firm to setting itself up as a private company. A Getty spokesperson reiterates to The Hollywood Reporter that layoffs will not be part of the restructuring plans.
盖蒂首席执行官彼得斯谈及此次交易时表示:“我们成功的核心支柱在于客户和合作伙伴的长期承诺、团队和内容贡献者的深厚专业知识与创造力,以及我们档案的独特性。”科赫股权高级董事总经理兼联席负责人迈克·哈里斯补充道:“我们对公司的未来充满信心,并完全支持此次交易,与盖蒂家族并肩前行。此次股权投资将为盖蒂图片提供坚实的财务基础和更大的灵活性,以继续投资于员工、客户、贡献者及未来增长。”
Getty CEO Peters said of the deal, “Core pillars of our success are the longstanding commitment of our customers and partners, the deep expertise and creativity of our team and content contributors, and the uniqueness of our archive.”Mike Harris, senior managing director and co-head at Koch Equity, added: “We remain confident in the company’s future and fully support this transaction alongside the Getty family. This equity investment will provide Getty Images with a firm financial foundation and greater flexibility to continue investing in its employees, customers, contributors, and future growth.”