Meta sells Giphy to Shutterstock to comply with UK regulator’s order

May 23 (Reuters) – Shutterstock Inc (SSTK.N) said on Tuesday it would buy motion-picture platform Giphy Inc from Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) for $53 million in cash, months after that the Facebook owner has agreed to divest the company over competition concerns.

Last year, the UK competition regulator ordered Meta to sell Giphy over concerns it would deny or limit competitors such as Snapchat Inc (SNAP.N) and Twitter’s access to target content.

Meta reportedly paid $400 million for New York-based Giphy in 2020. A year later, the deal was challenged by the UK Competition and Markets Authority and his successful campaign was the first time that a regulator was forcing an American technology giant to sell an already acquired company. .

Shares of Shutterstock, which expects the deal to close next month, rose 4% before market.

The company said Giphy will add “minimal” revenue this year and launch efforts to increase revenue from 2024.

“This is an exciting next step in Shutterstock’s journey as an end-to-end creative platform,” said Shutterstock CEO Paul Hennessy.

Giphy boasts of the world’s largest repository of animated images, commonly known as GIFs, and web stickers that are used on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Microsoft Teams.

Its content, which also includes official submissions from media companies such as Disney and Netflix, garners 15 billion daily impressions.

The Giphy deal will provide access to around 1.7 billion daily users, Shutterstock said.

Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bangalore

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