Technology firm Meta is selling Giphy, which manages the largest archive of animated GIFs in the world, to content marketplace Shutterstock at a significant loss of $53 million.
Meta, earlier named Facebook, purchased Giphy for $400 million three years ago. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found out that Meta’s acquisition of Giphy was anticompetitive, and the watchdog forced Meta to sell Giphy last autumn.
To secure further access to Giphy’s content throughout the tech firm’s platform, Meta and Shutterstock have agreed to an API agreement as part of the Giphy selling agreement. The deal is anticipated to close in June 2023.
Giphy claims that its collection of GIFs and stickers attracts more than 1.3 billion daily searches and produces more than 15 billion daily media impressions. Partners of Giphy include Meta, the company that runs Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok, Twitter, Snapchat, and mobile devices. Giphy’s media partners in terms of content include NBC, Disney, Netflix, the NFL, MLB, and the NBA.
Giphy’s stock of GIFs and stickers gain over 1.3 billion searches daily, it says. Its output of daily media impressions is more than 15 billion. Apart from Meta, social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook are also Giphy’s partners. Its media partners in terms of content include NBC, Disney, Netflix, the NFL, MLB, and the NBA.
Paul Hennessy, Shutterstock CEO, in a statement said, “This is an exciting next step in Shutterstock’s journey as an end-to-end creative platform. Shutterstock is in the business of helping people and brands tell their stories. Through the Giphy acquisition, we are extending our audience touch points beyond primarily professional marketing and advertising use cases and expanding into casual conversations.”
According to the company, the agreement would also expand Shutterstock’s API ecosystem to include Giphy’s more than 14,000 business partners.
According to Shutterstock, cash on hand and a current revolving credit facility are being used to finance the Giphy deal. The business predicted that Giphy would generate “minimal revenue” in 2023 and “focused monetization efforts taking place over the course of 2024.” Shutterstock stated that it will adhere to its sales and adjusted EBITDA margin forecasts for 2023.
