Getty said it will terminate the deal after the UK competition regulator required Shutterstock to sell its editorial business as a condition for clearance.
Getty Images is terminating its merger agreement with Shutterstock after the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority said the deal could proceed only if Shutterstock sold its editorial business. Getty said the condition was not one it was required to accept under the merger agreement, ending the proposed tie-up. The collapse highlights how regulatory remedies can derail cross-border consolidation when competition authorities seek asset sales to address market concerns, particularly in content and media businesses where scale and distribution are central to competition.