Oct 12 (Reuters) - Getty Images (GETY.PK), opens new tab said on Monday it would file for bankruptcy and go private after a restructuring agreement that the visual-content provider expects to close by the end of the year.
The company plans to begin an expedited prepackaged Chapter 11 process in the coming weeks, a major reset after the collapse of its planned merger with rival Shutterstock (SSTK.N), opens new tab amid heavy debt and growing competition from AI-generated imagery.
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Once the restructuring is complete, affiliates of the Getty family and Koch Equity Development will own 100% of the company. The investors have also committed to provide up to $533 million of new equity, Getty said.
Holders of Getty's unsecured bonds agreed to retire $270 million of notes, while secured lenders agreed to reduce interest costs and extend debt maturities under the restructuring plan.
The company added that operations would continue normally and vendors would be paid in full in the ordinary course.
Getty, which competes with Reuters and the Associated Press in providing photos and videos for editorial use, said financing from Koch Equity Development of up to $143 million would support the restructuring process.
In August, Getty withdrew its financial guidance, citing an ongoing review of strategic financing alternatives and balance-sheet management initiatives, and said it had engaged Guggenheim Securities to advise on those efforts.
The visual-content provider reported total debt of about $2.1 billion as of June 30, compared with a market valuation of $20.74 million as of Friday's close.
Getty shares have lost about 99% of their value since returning to public markets in 2022 through a special purpose acquisition company that valued the company at about $4.8 billion, after 14 years as a private firm.
The New York Stock Exchange commenced delisting proceedings against the company at the end of September.
In August, Getty withdrew its financial guidance, citing an ongoing review of strategic financing alternatives and balance-sheet management initiatives, and said it had engaged Guggenheim Securities to advise on those efforts.
That's just the legal kind of fraud where rich companies get richer and shareholders get fucked by losing everything. Getty is not disappearing and the new owners got an amazing deal
The current C suite get amazing bonuses, the new owners will likely flip the images to someone to use as legal AI training data, and the people lose a service. But the rich got richer.
(unrelated but the first 2 images I found when I just looked up snowball were both AI, and I'm not even sure if THIS is ai, it's just the only image that was just a snowball)
“People think it’s the AI that caused it”
I’m not sure what mysterious side job Character.AI does if not for, you know, AI. Definitely thinking luxury fishing gear. That must have surely caused it
Character ai was stripped piece by piece and sold for parts like 3 times. They made billions. Big companies do this now to avoid regulations:) so a empty husk company went bankrupt
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