The financing is largely committed. Getty family members and Koch Equity Development affiliates agreed to provide up to $533 million in new equity, and Koch Equity Development will provide up to $143 million in financing to fund the process. Noteholders holding 83.5% of the unsecured bonds agreed to retire $270 million in outstanding senior unsecured notes. Holders of about 89% of the secured bonds and term loans, and 100% of revolving credit lenders, agreed to reduce interest obligations and extend maturities. The filing follows the collapse of Getty's planned merger with Shutterstock, valued at about $3.7 billion. Getty delivered written notice terminating the merger agreement on July 7, 2026, after the UK Competition and Markets Authority conditioned approval on a sale of Shutterstock's editorial business and Getty's board declined that condition. Getty says it spent more than $100 million on professional fees and financing costs pursuing the deal. Getty hired Guggenheim Securities in July to evaluate financing alternatives.
Getty reported total debt of about $2.1 billion as of June 30. Its market valuation was $20.74 million at Friday's close. Shares have lost about 99% of their value since the company listed in 2022 through a special purpose acquisition company. Reuters also cites growing competition from AI-generated imagery.
For attorneys, the key points are the scope and timing of the case. Watch for the first-day filings and the creditor vote on the prepackaged plan, which will set the pace of the case, and for the eventual Chapter 11 petition, which will define which entities are covered. Because the plan is prepackaged, the deal terms are largely fixed before filing, so disputes are more likely to surface over the treatment of any non-consenting holders or the scope of the U.S.-only filing. Getty is also pivoting from the merger strategy toward its archive and news photography business, a shift that may matter for any future sale or vendor and licensing arrangements.