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Shutterstock has announced its agreement to acquire Giphy from Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, for a net cash amount of $53 million. This acquisition marks the end of a prolonged legal dispute that ultimately led to the sale of Giphy, a company specializing in animated images for social media.
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Shutterstock, a licensed content provider based in New York, stated that this deal will bring them a mobile content platform with 1.7 billion daily users. Additionally, they will gain global partnerships with prominent companies such as Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Microsoft, TikTok, Samsung, Twitter, Slack, and Discord. Meta's decision to sell Giphy was prompted by the UK's competition authority, which upheld an earlier order to reverse Meta's acquisition of the company in 2020. The initial acquisition had been valued at $315 million.
Why it matters
The U.K's Competition and Markets Authority initially ordered Meta to sell Giphy in 2021 due to concerns about reduced competition and increased market power. Shutterstock plans to fund the deal, set to close in June, using cash and credit. Meta has also agreed to an API agreement to maintain access to Giphy's content
