One of the world's leaders in the photo industry is on the verge of bankruptcy

The American photo agency Getty Images, one of the world's largest suppliers of photographs and video materials, intends to file for bankruptcy in the USA to carry out financial restructuring. The company has reached an agreement with creditors and investors on reducing its debt load and attracting new capital.

This is stated in the official statement of Getty Images, published on October 12.

The company plans to use the Chapter 11 bankruptcy procedure under US legislation. It allows businesses to continue operations during financial reorganization while reviewing obligations to creditors.

Getty Images has already agreed on the main restructuring terms with its largest creditors. According to the documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the start of bankruptcy proceedings is scheduled no later than October 21.

The Getty family founders and investment company Koch Equity Development have committed to provide financing and capitalization of up to 533 million dollars. This amount includes both new investments and conversion of part of existing debt obligations into company equity.

At the same time, holders of unsecured bonds agreed to redeem debt securities with a nominal value of 270 million dollars. Under the terms of the agreement they will receive approximately 170.2 million dollars.

Owners of about 89% of Getty Images' secured debt obligations also supported reducing interest payments and extending loan maturities.

After the restructuring is completed, Getty Images will cease to be a public company. Its shares will be canceled, and the owners of the reorganized business will become structures of the Getty family and Koch Equity Development. Current minority shareholders will not receive compensation for their stakes under the agreed plan.

The company expects to complete the financial reorganization by the end of 2026.

At the same time, Getty Images emphasizes that the procedure should not affect day-to-day operations. The company will continue to provide access to photos, video materials, and archives, and payments to suppliers will be made in the usual manner.

No restrictions for customers, partners, employees, and content creators are also expected. To maintain operations during the restructuring, Koch Equity Development has provided additional financing of up to 143 million dollars.

Getty Images' financial difficulties are developing against the backdrop of increased competition from generative AI services, which allow the creation of images without traditional photo banks.

An additional blow to the company's development strategy was the abandoned merger with competitor Shutterstock. The deal worth about 3.7 billion dollars was canceled in the summer of 2026 after the intervention of the British antitrust regulator.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority had permitted the merger only subject to the sale of Shutterstock's editorial business. The companies abandoned the deal, after which Getty Images focused on independent financial restructuring.

Getty Images CEO Craig Peters said that the support of investors and creditors will strengthen the company's financial position and accelerate investments in business development.

Getty Images works with more than 600 thousand authors and 360 content partners worldwide. Each year, the agency covers over 160 thousand news, sports, and entertainment events. In addition to the main brand, the company owns the photo services iStock and Unsplash.

Based on materials from: Getty Images, US Securities and Exchange Commission, UK Government, The Verge.