Getty Images will terminate its merger agreement with Shutterstock after the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority required the sale of Shutterstock's editorial business for approval. The $2.1 billion deal, announced in January 2025, faces collapse as Getty's board rejected the regulatory condition, claiming it falls outside their merger agreement obligations.

The CMA's intervention represents the latest regulatory hurdle for major media consolidations. Getty's board voted against pursuing the mandated divestiture, opting instead to kill the transaction by July 6 unless circumstances change materially. This follows Justice Department clearance received in April, suggesting U.S. regulators found fewer antitrust concerns.

The breakdown highlights increasing scrutiny of content licensing mergers in key markets. Shutterstock's editorial division, which provides news and celebrity imagery, becomes the focal point of regulatory concern about market concentration. Both companies operate in overlapping stock photography and media licensing spaces.

The termination leaves both companies to pursue separate growth strategies after months of integration planning. Shareholders face uncertainty as Getty walks away from what would have been one of the largest consolidations in the stock media sector.